HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH: 


INCLUDING   ITS 


RISE  AND  PROGRESS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


BY 


ALEXANDER    JONES, 


"  I'll  put  a  girdle  round  about  the  earth  in  forty  minutes."-  Siiakspeark. 


NEW- YORK: 
GEORGE  P.  PUTNAM,  10  PARK  PLACE, 

M.DCCC.LII. 


zTL 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1852,  by 

ALEXANDEE  JONES, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New- York. 


john  f.  tkow,  r  .;.-:.•.  *  • i ;     «  ;, 

PfilNTEB  AND   STEiUSOXTPafe,'    ,'''.,''  '     "  »  \ 

49  Ann-st 


TO 

THE    MERCHANTS    OF    NEW-YORK, 

IN   HUMBLE   ADMIRATION    OF   THEIR   PATRIOTISM,    INTELLIGENCE,    AND    ENTERPRISE  J 

THE    FAME   OF   WHOSE    DEEDS    IS    RECORDED    ON 

THE   ICY    BARRIERS    OF   ARCTIC   SEAS, 

IN   THE   EARLIEST   AND    LATEST   TRIUMPHS   OF   STEAM, 

AND 

IN   THE   UNEQUALLED    SPEED    OF   THEIR   SAILING   VESSELS, 

NO    LESS   THAN 

IN   THEIR   LIBERAL   ENCOURAGEMENT    OF   WORKS    OF   INTERNAL   IMPROVEMENT, 

AND   TO    WHOSE   PATRONAGE, 

WITH    THAT   OF   THE   PUBLIC    PRESS, 

THE   ELECTRIC   TELEGRAPHS    ARE   LARGELY   INDEBTED  FOR  THEIR   SUPPORT    AND    SUCCESS ; 

THIS    IMPERFECT   WORK 

IS 

RESPECTFULLY    INSCRIBED. 


mqi yno 


PREFACE. 


Electeicity  is  the  poetry  of  science ;  no  romance — no  tales 
of  fiction  excel  in  wonder  its  history  and  achievements. 
Viewed  in  its  terrible  atmospheric  manifestations,  no  element 
would  seem  less  likely  to  be  brought  under  the  control  of 
man,  and,  in  feebler  currents,  made  to  do  his  bidding,  than  it : 
yet,  such  is  the  result. 

We  find  it,  in  one  instance,  like  a  skilful  chemist,  elabo- 
rately analyzing  bodies  supposed  to  be  simple  alkalies,  and 
showing  them  to  be  compounds  of  metals  and  oxygen. 
Again,  we  find  it  at  work  in  attempts  to  manufacture  dia- 
monds. Anon,  it  turns  physician,  and  endeavors  not  only  to 
heal  the  sick,  but  to  bring  the  dead  to  life.  In  another  case, 
we  find  it  employed  in  the  plastic  art,  and,  like  an  expert  ope- 
rator, making  beautiful  and  delicate  copies  of  works  of  sculp- 
ture, and  engraving  in  masses  of  solid  metal.  Again,  we  find 
it  working  in  the  sun's  rays,  and  on  the  surface  of  Daguerreo- 
type plates,  delineating  the  human  features.  It  is,  again, 
engaged  in  dissolving  gold  and  silver,  and  applying  them  to 
the  gilding  and  plating  of  other  metals. 

"We  find  it,  at  another  time,  employed  in  blasting  rocks 
from  the  mountain  side,  or  in  removing  them  from  the  chan- 
nels of  rivers  and  harbors.  Again,  it  stands  ready  to  enlist  its 
services  beneath  the  banners  of  contending  armies,  to  engage 
on  either  side,  in  fearful  slaughter  and  destruction,  and  then 


Vi  PKEFACE. 

suddenly  send  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  the  news  of  its  own 
defeat  or  victory. 

Finally,  it  turns  its  electric  attention  to  the  movements  of 
"Father  Time"  and  undertakes  to  give  him  lessons  in  regular- 
ity and  speed.  In  one  instance,  we  find  it  conveying  messages 
of  intelligence  in  advance  of  time  over  a  continent,  measuring 
the  degrees  of  longitude,  and  dropping  copies  of  its  news  at 
each  hamlet,  village  and  town,  in  its  flight  over  mountain  peaks, 

"  Where  Alpine  solitudes  extend  ;" 

across  valleys  wide,  and  rivers  deep  and  strong ;  and  as  quickly 
at  its  post  again.  Anon,  we  find  it  working  a  hall  or  city 
clock,  making  it  accurately  mark  time  in  exact  seconds,  show- 
ing its  slow  but  steady  flight. 

Again,  we  find  it  turned  policeman ;  sounding  its  whistles 
and  alarm  bells,  to  arouse  drowsy  firemen  or  sleepy  watch- 
men, calling  them  quickly  to  a  raging  fire,  murderous  assault, 
or  marauding  burglary. 

Again,  we  find  its  magic  power  at  work  in  securing  the 
doors  and  vaults  of  our  buildings,  or  it  is  found  standing  sen- 
tinel over  our  treasures,  ready  to  sound  the  alarm  on  the  first- 
touch  of  the  robber.  It  also  is  prepared  to  pursue  the  rogue, 
fly  in  advance  of  his  steps,  and  drop  pictures  of  his  person 
and  features  at  each  station  on  its  way.  Not  only  so  ;  but  it 
stands  ready  to  turn  coast-guard,  to  sound  whistles  or  bells 
over  dangerous  reefs  or  rocky  shoals,  and  thus  timely  warn 
vessels  of  impending  danger. 

Where,  in  the  most  extravagant  records  of  fancy — in  the 
wildest  dreams  of  the  marvellous — can  we  find  a  hero,  how- 
ever lauded  and  deified,  whose  most  astounding  deeds  ever 
compared,  for  one  moment,  with  the  exploits  of  electricity  ? 
Yet,  its  mighty  triumphs  are  but  half  revealed,  and  the  vast 
extent  of  its  extraordinary  power  but  half  understood ! 


PKEFACE.  VU 

In  the  following  pages,  we  have  humbly  endeavored  to 
describe,  chiefly,  the  workings  of  the  electric  fluid  in  reference 
to  electric  telegraphs. 

Beginning  with  the  earliest  notices  of  electrical  laws,  exhi- 
bited in  the  practicability  of  conducting  the  fluid  to  a  distant 
point  from  the  place  of  its  generation,  whether  developed  by 
a  frictional  machine  or  a  galvanic  battery,  we  have  briefly  fol- 
lowed it  up,  through  its  different  epochs,  to  the  present  time. 

It  was  not  necessary,  in  our  plan,  to  give  a  complete  his- 
tory of  electricity,  nor  to  notice,  in  detail,  the  long  array  of  the 
names  of  philosophers  made  brilliant  and  immortal  by  their 
labors  and  discoveries,  and  who  contributed  so  largely  to  the 
development  of  the  laws  which  govern  electrical  science: 
such  prolixity  would  fill  volumes. 

Neither  have  we  been  able  to  bring  before  the  reader  the 
names  of  all  who  have,  in  some  way  or  other,  made  sugges- 
tions, or  contributed,  in  some  form,  to  the  establishment  of 
electric  telegraphs. 

Atmospheric  electricity  has  undoubtedly  coexisted  with 
other  elements  of  creation.  And  some  have  supposed  that  it 
was  the  primary  element,  employed  in  the  fiat  of  creation,  and 
yet  remains  that  universal  power  of  attraction  and  repulsion, 
by  which  worlds  are  sustained  in  their  orbits ;  while,  at  the 
same  time,  it  is  the  life  generating  and  supporting  principle  in 
all  existing  forms  of  vitality. 

Thales,  the  oldest  of  the  seven  wise  men  of  Greece,  taught 
that  water  was  the  primeval  element  of  all  other  things  apper- 
taining to  the  earth,  and  this  doctrine  was  current  up  to  the 
period  of  Paracelsus,  about  the  dawn  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, when  the  one  element  was  extended  to  four — water,  air, 
earth,  and  fire.  These  elements  were  soon  after  found,  them- 
selves, to  be  compound. 

It  seems  to  us,  that  it  would  have  been  more  wise,  had 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

electricity  been  fixed  upon  as  the  simple,  all-powerful  and 
pervading  element,  instead  of  water. 

We  derive  the  word  electricity  from  the  Greeks,  who  dis- 
covered that  when  amber  (called  by  them  electron)  was  rubbed, 
it  exhibited  properties  of  attraction  which  it  did  not  otherwise 
possess. 

This  property  in  amber,  it  is  said,  was  first  observed  by 
Thales,  six  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ.  Several 
accounts  of  electrical  phenomena  were  also  recorded  by  Aris- 
totle, Theophrastus,  Pliny,  Caesar,  and  Plutarch. 

It  was  not  until  the  seventeenth  century,  that  the  attention 
of  philosophers  was  strongly  attracted  to  the  subject  of  elec- 
tricity, and  various  new  facts  relating  to  it  were  first  discov- 
ered. Early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  it  received  increased 
attention,  and  many  of  the  greatest  minds  were  led  to  investi- 
gate its  laws,  and  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  its  effects,  which, 
on  being  published,  surprised  the  world  by  their  striking 
novelty. 

In  1745,  CUNENS,  a  philosopher  of  Leyden,  discovered 
(what  has  since  borne,  not  his  name,  but  that  of  the  town  in 
which  he  lived)  the  Leyden  jar,  or  phial.  This  gave  a  new 
impulse  to  electrical  science,  which  was  soon  after  followed 
by  the  discoveries  of  Dr.  Franklin  and  others,  some  of  which 
we  have  alluded  to  in  our  brief  chronological  statement. 
M.  Monnier,  the  younger,  discharged  a  Leyden  jar  through  a 
wire  of  four  thousand  feet  in  length,  but  could  not  estimate 
the  velocity  of  its  speed. 

Elliott,  of  Edinburgh,  first  constructed  an  electrometer  for 
measuring  the  quantity  or  force  of  the  fluid.  Abbe  JSTollet, 
of  France,  also  showed  by  experiment  that  the  electric  fluid 
could  be  conveyed  to  considerable  distances. 

*  It  is  said  that  the  Marquis  of  Worcester  alludes  to  tele- 
graphs in  his  famous  "Century  of  Inventions:1     Eobert  Iiooke, 


PREFACE.  IX 

in  1684,  presented  a  paper  to  the  Koyal  Society,  "  showing  a 
way  how  to  communicate  one's  mind  at  great  distances;" 
probably  by  a  visual  telegraph. 

In  1773,  Odin,  of  France,  suggested  the  possibility  of 
instantaneous  communication.  • 

For  discoveries  and  suggestions  made  by  other  parties  in 
reference  to  electricity  and  its  application  to  telegraphs,  we 
refer  to  our  chronological  table. 

In  the  present  age,  when  education  is  becoming  so  univer- 
sally diffused,  when  the  knowledge  of  great  and  important 
sciences  has  passed  from  the  few  to  the  many,  when  new  dis- 
coveries are  rapidly  following  each  other  in  all  the  useful  pur- 
suits of  man,  encouraged  in  our  happy  country  by  free  politi- 
cal institutions,  we  must  believe  that  new  discoveries  will  be 
made  in  electricity  and  its  applications,  and  that,  in  the  pros- 
pective and  brilliant  future,  the  perfection  and  extension 
of  electric  telegraphs  will  meet  with  their  due  share  of 
success. 

In  submitting  our  brief  and  imperfect  production  to  the 
public,  we  feel  sensibly  impressed  with  the  diffidence  common 
to  authors,  and  especially  to  those  unused  to  appear  before  the 
world  in  that  capacity.  We  have  been  compelled  to  discuss 
subjects  of  painful  delicacy,  either  in  defence  of  truth  or  in  the 
way  of  personal  explanation.  In  doing  this,  we  have  endeav- 
ored to  respect  the  feelings  and  merits  of  all  interested  parties, 
and  neither  to  give  nor  intend  personal  offence  to  any  person 
whatever. 

We  have  had  to  write  our  work  at  leisure  moments, 
snatched  from  cither  daily  occupation,  and  chiefly  during 
evenings,  or  at  night.  We  therefore  have  to  crave  the  indul- 
gence of  the  reader  for  such  errors  as  may  here  and  there  pre- 
sent themselves.  Our  aim  has  been,  to  describe  electricity  and 
electric  telegraphs  in  such  a  popular  form,  as  to  enable  a  party 


X  PREFACE. 

not  previously  and  fully  initiated,  to  gain  a  clearer  and  better 
knowledge  of  the  subject. 

The  facts  regarding  electric  telegraphs  have  multiplied  so 
rapidly  of  late  years,  and  their  extension  has  become  of  such 
general  and  public  utility,  that  some  work  of  the  kind,  em- 
bracing all  the  leading  points  of  their  history  up  to  the  pres- 
ent period,  seemed  necessary. 

Trusting  that  our  labors  will  be  found,  to  some  extent, 
both  useful  and  entertaining,  we  have  the  honor  to  be, 
The  public's  very  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

THE  AUTHOR 

April,  1852. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 
Preliminary  Remarks,  .......       1 

CHAPTER  II. 
Chronological  Statement  of  Discoveries  in  relation  to  the  Electric  Telegraph,       7 

CHAPTER  III. 
Brief  Explanation  of  Terms,  and  of  Instruments,  illustrated  with  cuts,         .     13 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Telegraph  Litigation :  Evidence,  Decisions,  <fec,  .  .  .  .29 

CHAPTER  V. 
Leading  Points  of  Contest  between  the  Claims  of  Morse  and  Bain,  .     41 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Local  Circuits — Relay  and  Receiving  Magnets,  .  .  .  .55 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Chemical  Telegraph,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .70 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Dates  at  which  the  chief  Telegraph  Lines  in  the  United  States  have  been 
built  and  put  in  operation,  .  .  .  .  .  .77 


xii  CONTENTS. 

PAG» 

CHAPTER  IX. 

New  projected  Telegraph  Lines,  to  facilitate  the  transmission  of  news 
between  the  Old  and  New  Worlds,  and  to  unite  in  communication  the 
Atlantic  with  the  Pacific,  .  .  .  .  •  •     8i 

CHAPTER  X. 

Statistics  of  Telegraphs  in  the  United  States— Plan  of  Erecting  Lines- 
Method  and  Expense  of  Working  them,       .  .  .  .  .87 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Expense  of  Building  and  Operating  the  Lines,  .  .  .  .96 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Statistical  and  other  Information  regarding  the  Operations  of  several  leading 
Lines,  supplied  by  the  operators,  clerks  and  superintendents  attached  to 
them,  in  reply  to  a  series  of  questions,  .  .  .  .  .100 


Answers  from  the  O'Reilly  Line, 

Answers  from  the  Bain  Line, 

Answers  from  House's  Line, 

Answers  from  Morse's  New- York  and  Buffalo  Line, 


.  101 
.  108 
.  112 
.  114 


CHAPTER  XIIL 
Specimens  of  Telegraph  Signal  Writing  and  Printing,  ,  .  .117 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Connection  of  the  Press  with  Electric  Telegraphs — Earliest  Communications 
between  New- York  and  other  points — Crossing  the  North  River — System 
of  News  Reporting — Commercial  and  Congressional  Ciphers — Telegraphic 
Anecdotes  and  Incidents,       .  .  .  .  .  .120 

Examples  from  Commercial  Ciphers,  .  .  .  .  .125 

Examples  from  Congressional  Ciphers,  .  .  .  .  .129 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Fast  Methods  of  Telegraph  Writing — Fac-simile  Transmissions  of  Manu- 
script, Printed  Copy,  and  Figures  of  all  kinds,         ....  149 
Proposed  Electro-Magnetic  Locks,  .....  152 


CONTENTS. 


xm 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Use  of  the  Electric  Telegraph  in  the  Calculation  of  Longitude — Municipal 
Telegraphs  in  Cities  and  Towns — Application  of  Electricity  to  Blasting 
and  Submarine  Explosions,  .  .  .  .  .  .153 

Fire  Alarm  Whistles,  .  .  .  .  .  .159 

Blasting  and  Submarine  Explosions,  by  Electricity,  .  .  .  162 

Operations  on  Pot-Rock,  Hurlgate,       .  .  .  .  .  .163 

Page's  Axial  Electro-Magnetic  Engine — Second  Cut  of  House's  Printing  Tel- 

.  165 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Foreign  Electric  Telegraphs — Their  Rise  and  Progress  in  Europe — Extent  of 
Lines,  Plans  of  Construction,  and  Methods  of  Operating  them, 


166 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Latest  Accounts  of  the  Progress  and  Operations  of  Foreign  Telegraphs,  .  181 

Financial  Returns  of  English  Telegraph  Lines,            .             .             .  .181 

Marking  Meridian  Time  by  Electricity,             .            .             .             .  .182 

Submarine  Telegraphs,             .            .            .             .             .            .  .182 

Electric  Telegraph  Lines  on  the  Continent,       .            .             .             .  .184 

Conclusion,         .........  186 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Charges  for  Telegraph  Dispatches  from  New- York  to  all  parts  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  -  .  .  .  .  .  .187 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


ELBCTEIC    TELEGEAPH 


CHAPTER  I. 


*It  has  been  supposed  by  many  that  the  idea  of  an  electric 
telegraph  did  not  exist  anterior  to  Dr.  Franklin's  experiments 
made  to  test  the  identity  of  the  lightning  with  that  generated 
by  an  electrical  machine ;  but  such  was  not  the  fact.  Grey 
and  Wheeler,  of  England,  as  early  as  1728,  showed  that  elec- 
tricity could  be  conducted  to  a  great  distance.*  Dr.  Watson, 
of  England,  was  the  first  to  propose  the  construction  of  an 
electrical  telegraph,  in  1747.*  Dr.  Franklin's  attention  was 
first  drawn  to  the  subject  of  Electricity  between  1745  and 
1746.  It  was  not,  however,  until  June,  1752,  that  he  raised 
his  kite  and  drew  an  electric  spark  from  a  passing  thunder- 
cloud, *the  result  of  which  he  communicated  in  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Collison,  of  London,  dated  Philadelphia,  October  19,  1752. 
The  Royal  Philosophical  Society  of  London,  it  is  said,  were 
so  incredulous  regarding  the  reality  or  value  of  his  experi- 
ments, that  they  refused  to  admit  them  to  record  in  their  Trans- 
actions. Be  this  as  it  may,  Mr.  Collison  soon  after  published 
Franklin's  experiments  in  a  pamphlet  form,  which  was  translated 
into  several  languages,  and  attracted  almost  universal  attention. 
There  are  many  curious  things  connected  with  the  progress  of 
electrical  telegraphs,  from  the  earliest  suggestions  regarding  their 
practicability  up  to  their  latest  improvements  and  application, 

*  See  "  Stuber's  Life  of  Franklin,"  Hartford  edition. 


4  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

as  we  at  present  see  them  in  use  in  this  country  and  in  Europe. 
The  introduction  of  electrical  telegraphs,  and  their  daily  em- 
ployment in  the  speedy  transmission  of  news,  forms  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  eras  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
marks  strongly  and  indelibly  a  stage  in  the  conquest  of  mind 
over  matter. 

Such  is  the  importance  of  the  subject,  that  every  link  in 
its  history  should  be  clearly  noted  and  recorded.  Like  most 
other  great  discoveries,  its  commencement,  rise,  and  progress 
fTct  not  belong  'to,  jior  have  they  originated  with,  a  single  in- 
dividual.' But,  'from  its  earliest  conception  to  the  present 
time;  its  utility  -has  been  rendered  available,  step  by  step,  by 
tne  labors  and  discoveries  of  a  large  number  of  distinguished 
scientific  men,  whose  developments  in  electricity,  electro-mag- 
netism, and  permanent  batteries,  &c,  were  all  given  to  the 
world  in  scientific  publications,  at  different  periods  of  time. 
The  mass  of  mankind,  as  yet,  do  not  seem  to  realize^the  vast 
consequences  to  which  the  use  of  electric  telegraphs  may  lead. 
They  do  not,  and  cannot,  comprehend  the  future  in  the  appli- 
cations of  electricity.  It  is  difficult  for  any  one  to  give  a  clear 
and  popular  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  electric  telegraphs 
are  really  worked — how  it  is  that  a  message  of  more  or  less 
length  is  so  instantaneously,  as  it  were,  reproduced,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  four  or  five  hundred  miles,  copies  of  which  .are  dropped 
on  the  way.  The  public  see  posts  erected,  and  wires  stretched 
on  them.  They  also  see  machines  of  small  dimensions,  in 
telegraph  offices,  managed  by  operators,  and  may  imagine 
what  a  battery  is  that  generates  electricity,  as  well  as  that  a 
piece  of  cold  iron  may  be  converted  into  a  magnet,  while  the 
electricity  is  passing  round  it  through  a  coil  of  copper  wire, 
which  ceases  to  be  a  magnet,  or  to  attract,  when  the  current  is 
cut  off.  But  there  are  few  who  can  comprehend,  after  all,  ex- 
actly how  the  thing  is  done — how  one  system  of  telegraph  differs 
from  another — why  Morse's  machines  make  blank  dots  or  inden- 
tations, on  white  slips  of  paper — how  House's  prints  messages  in 
Koman  letters — and  how  Bain's  employs  electricity  as  a  chemi- 
cal agent  in  the  discoloration  of  paper,  by  which  messages 
are  transmitted.     And  unless  parties  to  whom  the  whole  is 


THE   ELECTKIC  TELEGRAPH.  5 

to  be  explained  possess  some  previous  knowledge  of  electri- 
city and  its  laws,  it  is  difficult  for  them  to  understand  it. 
Neither  can  the  peculiarities  of  the  various  telegraph  machines 
employed  here  and  in  Europe,  be  explained  without  diagrams. 
It  is  easy  to  understand  the  steam-engine, — the  workings  of  a 
steamboat,  cotton,  or  other  more  palpable  or  demonstrative 
machinery ;  but  not  so  the  workings  of  the  telegraph  ma- 
chines, or  the  nature  of  the  subtle  fluid  by  the  agency  of 
which  they  are  actuated.  It  would  extend  our  narrative 
beyond  all  reasonable  limits  were  we  to  attempt  to  give  any 
descriptive  notice  of  the  different  machines  in  use,  which  now 
amount  to  more  than  a  dozen,  here  and  abroad. 

Of  one  thing  all  may  feel  assured — that  the  electric  tele- 
graphs are  yet  in  their  infancy.  The  time  must  come  when 
they  will  work  a  great  revolution  in  the  affairs  of  men — in 
their  social,  political,  and  commercial  intercourse.  The  time 
will  come  when  all  the  proceedings  in  Congress  will  be  trans- 
mitted, in  extenso,  to  all  parts  of  the  Union  daily — when  they 
will  become  the  medium  of  communication  for  all  letters  of 
consequence,  passing  between  distant  points  of  the  Union, 
instead  of  their  slow  transportation  by  mail.  The  time  will 
come  when  New-Orleans,  the  city  of  Mexico,  San  Francisco, 
and  Astoria,  on  the  Pacific,  will  be  in  as  constant,  steady,  and 
daily  communication  with  New-York,  as  Albany,  Philadel- 
phia, and  Boston.  And  furthermore,  the  time  must  and 
will  arrive,  be  it  fifty  or  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  hence,  when 
great  telegraph  lines  will  unite  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world 
in  daily  communication. 

When  the  telegraph  is  well  established  hence  to  the  Pacific, 
it  will  be  practicable,  by  proper  means  and  energy,  for  it  to 
be  extended  northwest  to  Behring's  Straits,  which  is  only  about 
thirty  miles  wide,  and  found  by  Capt.  Cook  to  be  only  six  fa- 
thoms in  depth.  Once  carried  into  Asia,  across  these  Straits,  by 
the  liberal  co-operation  of  the  Emperor  of  Eussia,  they  could 
be  carried  to  St.  Petersburg,  and  from  thence  to  Germany, 
where,  intersecting  with  the  present  lines  between  London  and 
Paris,  and  other  European  capitals,  they  would  be  put  into 
communication  with  New- York. 


6  HISTOEICAL  SKETCH. 

All  idea  of  connecting  Europe  with  America,  by  lines  ex- 
tending directly  across  the  Atlantic,  is  utterly  impracticable 
and  absurd.  It  is  found  on  land,  when  sending  messages  over 
a  circuit  of  only  four  or  five  hundred  miles,  necessary  to  have 
relays  of  batteries  and  magnets  to  keep  up,  or  to  renew,  the 
current  and  its  action.  How  is  this  to  be  done  in  the  ocean, 
for  a  distance  of  three  thousand  miles  ?  But,  by  the  way  of 
Behring's  Straits  the  whole  thing  is  practicable,  and  its  ulti- 
mate accomplishment  is  only  a  question  of  time,  made  near  or 
remote  by  the  progress  of  population  and  civilization.  The 
time  must  come  when  the  political  movements  and  discus- 
sions— the  state  and  condition  of  trade  and  commerce — the 
ups  and  downs  of  daily  life,  will  be  daily  and  simultaneously 
published  in  Paris,  Vienna,  London,  and  New- York,  thereby 
ushering  in  a  higher  degree  and  wider  sphere  of  civilization, 
and  of  "  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to  man." 


CHAPTEK  II. 

CHRONOLOGICAL   STATEMENT    OF    DISCOVERIES   IN    RELATION 
TO  THE  ELECTRIC   TELEGRAPH. 

'  Early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  when  it  was  discovered 
that  electricity  generated  by  a  frictional  machine  could  be  con- 
veyed to  a  long  distance,  the  idea  of  applying  it  to  telegraph 
purposes  was  suggested,  and  various  attempts  made  to  put  it 
into  practical  use. 

The  efforts  made  to  establish  electric  telegraphs  divide  them- 
selves into  four  periods :  First,  from  the  development  of  elec- 
tricity by  friction,  to  the  discovery  of  galvanism,  or  the  pro: 
duction  of  electricity  by  the  chemical  action  of  acids  upon 
metals,  in  1790  by  Galvani,  and  by  Yolta  in  1800.  Second, 
from  1790  to  1820,  when  Oersted  discovered  electro-magnet- 
ism, and  Ampene*  showed  its  applicability  to  telegraph  purpo- 
ses. Third,  from  1820  to  1831,.  when  Professor  Joseph  Henry 
discovered  the  mode  of  constructing  improved  magnets,  in 
connection  with  properly  arranged  batteries,  so  as  to  produce 
mechanical  effects  at  a  distance.  Fourth,  from  1831  until  the 
present  time,  1852. 

First  Period. 

1726. — Wood,  of  England,  discovered  that  the  electric  fluid  could 
be  conveyed  a  long  distance,  by  conducting  wires. 

1746. — Winkler,  of  Leipsic,  discharged  a  Leyden  jar  by  a  friction 
machine,  through  a  wire  of  considerable  length  ;  and  on  that  occasion 
the  River  Pleis  formed  part  of  his  circuit.  (Priestltfs  History  of  Elec- 
tricity, p.  59.) 

1747. — Dr.  Watson,  of  England,  extended  the  experiments  over  a 
space  of  four  miles,  at  Shooter's  Hill,  near  London,  comprising  his  cir- 
cuit of  two  miles  of  wire  and  an  equal  distance  of  ground.    He  is  be- 


8  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

lieved  to  have  been  the  first  who  suggested  the  application  of  electri- 
city to  telegraph  purposes.     [Phil.  Trans.,  vol.  xiv.,  1848.) 

1748. — Dr.  Franklin  set  fire  to  spirits  by  an  electric  current  sent 
across  the  Schuylkill  on  a  wire,  and  allowed  it  to  return  by  the  river 
and  earth.     [Sparks' s  Life  of  Franklin,  vol.  v.,  p.  210  :  Boston.) 

1*784. — Lomond,  of  France,  communicated  telegraph  signals  to  a 
neighboring  room,  by  means  of  a  pith  ball  electrometer,  acted  upon  by 
electricity.     (Young's  Travels  in  France,  1784,  vol.  ix.,  p.  79.) 

Reiser  illuminated  letters  upon  plate  glass,  formed  of  tin  foil  by 
means  of  electricity.     (VoigMs  Magazine,  vol.  i.,  part  1st.) 

1795. — Cavalo  proposed  to  form  an  electric  telegraph  by  firing  a 
gas  pistol  at  the  distant  end  of  a  wire,  and  thus  to  give  signals.  (See 
his  Treatise  on  Electricity,  vol.  hi.,  p.  295.) 

M.  Savary  attributes  the  first  idea  of  an  electric  telegraph  to  Dr. 
Franklin.  (See  Amoyis  Memoire  Comptes  Rendus  French  Academy, 
sitting  July,  1838,  pp.  80,  81,  82.) 

1798. — Betancourt  established  a  telegraph  between  Madrid  and 
Aranguez,  twenty-six  miles,  through  which  a  current  of  electricity  was 
passed,  and  gave  signals  for  letters.  (Given  in  the  work  of  Gauss  and 
Webber,  on  the  authority  of  Humboldt.)  "  He  constructed  an  electric 
telegraph  in  Spain,  by  which  the  infanta,  who  saw  it  operate  under  his 
own  eyes,  was  specially  informed  of  a  piece  of.  news  from  a  very  great 
distance."     (See  Amoyt's  Memoire  above.) 

Second  Period. 

1809. — Soemering  constructed  the  first  galvanic  telegraph  at  Munich, 
which  operated  by  the  decomposition  of  water ;  and  which  he  also 
caused  to  ring  a  bell  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  wire.  (History  of 
Electric  Telegraphy,  by  Abbe  Moigno,  p.  300.     Paris,  1849.) 

Soemering  speaks  of  the  telegraph  of  Reiser  and  Salva,  which  had 
preceded  him ;  and  also  of  the  experiments  which  had  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  the  telegraph,  by  Le  Mounier  and  Watson. 

Soemering's  telegraph  was  the  first  decomposing  or  chemical  tele- 
graph ;  and  can  be  even  now  successfully,  but  less  rapidly,  worked  than 
Bain's. 

1816. — Dr.  John  Redman  Coxe,  of  Philadelphia,  proposed  to  estab- 
lish an  electric  telegraph,  and  to  make  signals  at  a  distance  by  the  de- 
composition of  water  and  metallic  salts,  causing  a  change  in  color  to 
ensue.  (Thompson's  Annals  of  Philosophy,  vol.  vii.,  p.  162.  Journal 
Franklin  Institute,  vol.  xx.,  p.  325.     Philadelphia,  1837.) 


THE  MAGNETIC  TELEGRAPH.  9 

1823. — Francis  Ronalds,  of  England,  proposed  a  telegraph  by  the 
use  of  frictional  electricity.  In  his  arrangement  there  were  clocks  at 
the  stations  which  kept  time  with  each  other,  and  which  were  furnished 
with  a  light  disc  of  ciphers  in  place  of  hands,  having  twenty  different 
signs  towards  their  circumference. 

At  the  moment  the  proper  sign  on  the  disc  passed  before  the  index 
at  one  station  the  spark  was  discharged,  and  an  electrometer  placed  at 
the  other  discharged  and  caused  the  sign  on  the  disc  at  the  other  to  be 
noted.  This  telegraph  is  stated  to  have  extended  to  Hammersmith, 
eight  miles,  and  to  have  used  the  discharge  of  a  gas  pistol  as  an  alarm. 
(Encyclopedia  Britannica,  1842,  7th  edition,  Letter  E,  p.  662.  Stien- 
MeVs  Annales  of  Electricity,  vol.  hi.,  p.  446.) 

Third  Period,  1820  to  1831. 

1819. — In  this  year  Professor  Oersted,  of  Copenhagen,  discovered 
electro-magnetism,  or  electro-magnetic  motion.  (See  Annals  of  Phi- 
losophy, vol.  xvi.,  p.  273. 

1820. — Ampere,  of  France,  discovered  the  electro-magnetic  tele- 
graph. This  he  constructed  of  as  many  wires  as  there  were  letters, 
and  used  the  deflection  of  the  needle  as  a  signal.  He  broke  and  re- 
newed the  circuits  by  finger-keys,  something  similar  to  those  of  the 
keys  of  a  piano-forte.  (Annales  de  Chemie  et  de  Physique,  1820,  vol. 
xv.,  p.  75.  Expose  des  Nouvelles  Decouverts  par  Ampere  et  Babinet. 
Paris,  1822.     Amyot,  Comptes  Rendus,  1838,  p.  81.) 

1825. — Barlow,  of  Greenwich,  England,  attempted  to  put  a  gal- 
vanic telegraph  in  operation  in  this  year ;  but  was  thwarted  by  the  di- 
minution of  the  fluid,  when  he  endeavored  to  transmit  it  for  a  great 
distance,  so  as  to  produce  mechanical  effects.  This  difficulty  the  dis- 
coveries of  Henry,  however,  afterwards  overcame.  (See  Testimony  for 
Defence  in  case  of  F.  vs.  R.,  p.  250.) 

Mr.  Sturgeon,  of  England,  in  the  same  year  constructed  the  first 
electro-magnet,  by  coiling  a  copper  wire  round  a  piece  of  iron,  of  a  horse- 
shoe form,  the  bent  turns  of  the  wire  being  so  far  apart  as  to  prevent 
contact.  He  found  that  when  the  electric  fluid  passed  through  this  coil, 
the  inclosed  iron  became  a  magnet,  and  was  again  demagnetized  on 
breaking  the  current.  The  wires  were  afterwards  coated  with  non-con- 
ducting substances,  and  wrapped  around  the  iron  in  close  contact,  as  we 
now  see  them.  An  account  of  his  experiments  was  first  published  in 
Nov.,  1825,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement 


10  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

of  Arts  in  England.  (See  also  '  Annals  of  Philosophy1  for  Nov., 
1826.") 

1826. — Harrison  Gray  Dyar  erected  a  telegraph  on  Long  Island,  in 
New  York.  He  used  frictional  electricity  and  dyed  marks  on  chemically 
prepared  paper  by  the  passage  of  sparks.  (See  Evidence  for  Defence, 
French  vs.  Rogers.) 

1831. — Professor  Joseph  Henry,  then  of  Princeton  College,  discov- 
ered a  method  of  forming  magnets  of  intensity  and  of  quantity,  pro- 
duced from  correspondent  batteries,  and  by  the  use  of  which,  with  relay 
magnets,  &c,  proposed  by  him,  he  made  known  the  practicability  to 
produce  mechanical  effects  at  a  great  distance ;  without  which  no  me- 
chanical electro-magnetic  telegraph  could  ever  have  been  put  in  suc- 
cessful operation  for  great  distances,  say  from  1000  to  2000  miles.  (See 
19  th  vol.  of  Silliman's  Journal  of  Arts  and  Sciences  ;  also  Henry's 
Evidence  for  Defence,  F.  vs.  R.,  p.  253.) 

1832. — Baron  Schilling,  of  St.  Petersburg,  contrived  a  deflective 
magnetic  telegraph.  This  telegraph  had  an  alarm  bell  connected  with 
it.  It  was  a  step  in  advance  of  previous  electro-magnetic  telegraphs. 
See  Sturgeon's  Annals  of  Electricity,  vol.  iii.,  p.  448,  1839. 

1833. — Gauss  and  Weber  first  constructed  the  simplified  electro- 
magnetic telegraph.  It  was  Gauss  who  first  employed  the  incitement 
of  induction,  and  who  demonstrated  that  the  appropriate  combination 
of  a  limited  number  of  signs,  is  all  that  is  required  for  the  transmission 
of  communications.  Weber  discovered  that  a  copper  wire  7,400  feet 
long,  which  he  carried  over  the  houses  and  church  steeples  of  Gottin- 
gen,  from  the  Observatory  to  the  Cabinet  of  Natural  Philosophy,  re- 
quired no  special  insulation.  This  was  an  important  point  of  discovery 
in  the  construction  of  telegraph  lines,  and  it  is  made  available  to  the 
present  time.  (Sturgeon's  Annals  of  Electricity,  vol.  iii.,  p.  448, 
1839  ;  Gott.  Gel.  Am.,  p.  12*73,  and  Schumacher's  Jahrhuck,  1837, 
p.  38.) 

1837. — Stienhiel  constructed  and  put  in  use  in  July  of  that  year 
his  Registering  Electro-Magnetic  Telegraph  between  Munich  and  Bogen- 
hausen.  By  the  deflection  of  a  needle  he  produced  dots,  or  short  marks 
on  fillets  of  paper  to  stand  as  signals  for  letters,  &c. ;  the  paper  being 
drawn  forward  by  clock-work,  in  an  endless  slip  or  ribbon.  (See 
Sturgeon's  Annals  of  Electricitg  vol.  iii.  p.  449-450. — Comptes 
Rendus  of  the  French  Academy,  sitting  September,  10th  1838,  pp. 
590-593.) 

June  12th,  1837  the  deflective  Electro-Magnetic  Telegraph  of  Cook 


THE  MAGNETIC  TELEGEAPH.  11 

and  Wheatstone  was  patented  in  England.  They  first  employed  receiving 
and  relay  magnets.  {London  Repertory  of  Patent  Inventions,  1839,  vol. 
xi.,  new  series  p.  1.) 

In  October,  1837,  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse  of  New-York  entered  his 
first  caveat  for  an  "  American  Electro-Magnetic  Telegraph,"  in  which  he 
chiefly  relied  on  a  kind  of  type  and  port  rule  for  making  signals  by 
the  mechanical  force  of  Electro-Magnetic  Motion. 

In  his  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  dated  Dec.  6th,  1837, 
he  stated  that  he  had  devised  but  not  tested  his  improvement,  until  a 
few  weeks  previous  to  the  27th  September,  1837.  Morse  claims,  that 
he  first  thought  of  a  Magnetic  Telegraph  when  coming  to  the  United 
States  in  the  ship  Sully,  in  1832.  Professor  Charles  T.  Jackson  of  Bos- 
ton claims  the  credit  of  having  suggested  the  first  idea  of  an  Electrical 
Telegraph  to  Professor  Morse,  while  coming  over  in  the  same  vessel  as 
a  fellow-passenger.  But  neither  appeared  to  have  been  aware,  at  the 
time,  of  all  that  had  been  previously  accomplished  before  them.  Morse 
obtained  a  patent  in  France  in  1838  ;  and  in  the  United  States  in  1840. 
His  various  re-issues,  new  patents,  &c,  we  have  subsequently  alluded  to 
under  another  head. 

1838. — Edward  Davy  of  London  had  his  patent  sealed  for  a  chemi 
cal  Telegraph,  which  was  enrolled  January  4th,  1839.     In  his  plan  he 
employed  chemically  prepared  paper,  similar  in  its  general  character  to 
that  employed  in  the  instrument  of  Bain.      (See  his  Specification  in 
Evidence  for  Defence,  French  vs.  Rogers,  pp.  34-44.) 

1843. — Alexander  Bain  obtained  his  English  patent  for  Electro- 
Magnetic  Clocks.     % 

1846.— Mr.  Bain  obtained  his  English  patent  for  his  improved  Elec- 
tro- Chemical  Telegraph. 

1848. — Mr.  Bain  entered  his  claim  for  an  American  patent,  which 
was  confirmed  to  him  by  Judge  Cranch  in  1849.  (See  Specifications, 
pp.  146-157,  also  100,  112,  and  115,  Evidence  for  Defence,  French 
vs.  Rogers.) 

1848,-49. — Royal  E.  House  of  New- York  obtained  his  patent  for 
his  very  ingenious  and  valuable  Printing  Electric  Telegraph. 

1848. — Zook  and  Barnes  of  Cincinnati  invented  a  modification  of 
the  Electro-Magnetic  Telegraph,  by  combining  fixed  magnets  with  the 
use  of  electro-magnets. 

1849,  50. — About  this  time  Mr.  Horn  of  New- York  invented  his 
Igniting  Telegraph,  which  made  dots  and  lines  by  burning  them  in 
slips  of  revolving  paper  by  the  heat  of  the  electric  fluid,  while  passing. 


12  HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 

About  the  same  time,  a  Mr.  Johnson,  of  New- York,  contrived  a  machine 
worked  by  Electro-Magnetism  to  let  shot  drop  on  to  slips  of  paper, 
which,  being  pressed  at  the  same  moment,  left  visible  marks  which 
stood  as  signs  for  letters. 

An  Axial  Telegraph  was  also  about  the  same  time  proposed  by 
Daniel  Davis,  of  Boston,  which  with  that  of  Horn's  and  Johnson's 
have  not  come  into  any  general  use. 


CHAPTER  III. 

BRIEF  EXPLANATION  OF  TERMS  AND  OF  INSTRUMENTS. 

To  impress  the  mind  of  the  uninitiated  reader  with  a  clearer 
idea  of  the  meaning  of  certain  terms  employed  in  the  discus- 
sion of  the  subject,  we  will  endeavor  to  explain  them. 

1.  There  are  two  well-known  modes  of  developing  electri- 
city :  First,  by  friction,  such  as  is  used  in  a  common  electrical 
machine ;  second,  by  the  solution  or  decomposition  of  metals 
in  acids — two  metals  being  usually  employed,  of  opposite  con- 
ducting qualities,  such  as  zinc  and  platina,  immersed  in  diluted 
sulphuric  or  nitric  acids. 

2.  Electricity  produced  by  friction  is  called  "  Frictional 
Electricity." 

3.  Electricity  produced  by  the  immersion  of  metals  in  acids 
is  called  "  Galvanism."  And  the  arrangement  of  the  metallic 
plates,  the  zinc  and  platina  alternating  (or  copper  instead  of  pla- 


Fig.  i. 


A  battery  formed  of  twelve  cups  on  the  plan  of  Mr.  Grove. 
P.  Positive  polo.    N.  Negative  pole.    W.  Wire. 


tina  may  be  used) ;  in  a  row,  one  end  terminating  in  a  zinc,  and 
the  other  in  a  platina  or  copper  plate,  with  the  cups  of  acid  for 
their  immersion,  is  called  a  "Battery."     A  battery  is  formed 


14  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

thus : — Take  any  number  of  glass  cups,  in  the  form  of  large 
sized  glass  tumblers,  say,  from  twelve  to  one  hundred.  Take 
an  equal  number  of  thick  cast  zinc  cups,  half  an  inch  less  in 
diameter  than  the  glass  cups,  open  at  bottom,  and  with  an  open 
slit  on  one  side.  Set  a  zinc  cup  thus  formed  in  each  glass 
tumbler.  Again,  inside  the  zinc-shell,  place  a  small  porcelain 
cup,  unglazed,  and  closed  at  bottom.  Into  this  porcelain  cup 
place  a  thin  piece  of  platina  foil,  half  to  an  inch  wide,  and  two 
or  three  inches  long.  The  upper  end  of  this  platina  foil  is  con- 
nected with  the  zinc  cup  in  the  next  adjoining  tumbler,  by  a 
slip  of  metal,  and  the  platina  in  that  cup  to  the  zinc  in  the 
next,  and  so  on  through  the  whole  series.  The  cups  may  be 
set  in  a  single  or  double  row  on  a  table,  or  they  may  be  placed 
in  a  circle.  The  arrangement  begins  with  the  platina  foil  at 
one  end,  to  which  a  wire  is  attached,  called  the  positive  pole, 
and  terminates  with  a  zinc  cup  at  the  other  end,  to  which  a 
wire  is  also  attached,  which  is  called  a  negative  pole.  To 
bring  a  battery  thus  formed  into  action,  sulphuric  acid  (oil  vit- 
riol), largely  diluted  with  water,  is  poured  into  the  glass  cups,  so 
as  to  fill  all  the  space  inside  and  outside  of  the  open  zinc  cups, 
while  the  porcelain  cups  are  filled  with  diluted  nitric  acid  (aqua 
fortis),  and  surround  the  platina  foil.  The  weak  sulphuric  acid 
in  the  outer  chambers  may  also  be  rendered  more  active,  by 
the  addition  of  a  slight  portion  of  nitric  acid.  When  thus  pre- 
pared, electricity  is  actively  developed  at  the  poles  or  ends  of 
the  opposite  wires,  whether  long  or  short.  To  render  the  de- 
composition of  the  zinc  cups  less  rapid,  they  are  usually  coated 
with  quicksilver,  merely  by  rubbing  it  over  their  surface. 
When  the  battery  is  not  in  use,  the  metallic  portions  are  re- 
moved from  the  acids  in  the  glass  and  porcelain  cups. 

4.  The  platina  plate  at  one  end  of  the  row,  is  called  the 
"Positive  Pole,  and  the  zinc  at  the  other,  the  "Negative  Pole." 

5.  A  copper  wire  soldered  to  the  negative  pole,  or  zinc 
plate,  and  another  to  the  platina,  or  positive  pole,  however 
long,  are  called  "  Circuits."  And  when  their  ends  are  brought 
together,  a  shock  or  spark  of  electricity  will  be  produced.  It 
is  supposed  that  there  is  such  an  action  of  the  acids  on  the 
metals,  as  to  cause  an  accumulation  of  the  fluid  at  the  platina 


THE  MAGNETIC  TELEGRAPH.  15 

end  of  the  battery,  and  a  diminution  at  the  zinc  end ;  and 
hence  there  is  a  strong  tendency  in  the  fluid  to  gain  an  equi- 
librium, by  reaching  the  zinc  pole  by  the  best  conductor,  and 
hence  equalize  or  reduce  the  supply  at  the  platina  end. 

6.  A  u  Current"  is  the  passage  of  the  electric  fluid  through 
a  wire,  from  one  pole  to  the  other. 

To  make  the  subject  still  more  plain,  suppose  a  house,  set 
due  north  and  south,  to  represent  a  battery.  Suppose  its  north 
end  to  represent  the  positive  pole,  or  the  platina  end,  and  the 
south  end  the  zinc  pole.  Suppose  a  wire  to  proceed  from  the 
north  end  to  distant  villages  and  towns,  a  hundred  miles  off, 
and  suppose  another  wire  from  the  zinc  end  proceeds  by  an- 
other route,  and  is  brought  near  to  it,  both  being  secured  on 
poles,  and  supported  by  glass,  to  prevent  the  fluid  reaching 
the  ground.  Now  a  man,  standing  at  the  ends  of  the  two 
wires,  can  produce  an  electrical  spark  between  them  by  merely 
bringing  them  in  contact.  When  the  two  ends  are  in  contact, 
the  "circuit"  is  said  to  be  closed  and  the  "current"  passes  si- 
lently and  instantly  over  a  space  of  200  miles,  from  one  end  of 
the  house  to  reach  the  other.  But,  if  the  wire  from  the  north 
end  of  the  house  is  made  to  terminate  a  hundred  miles  off,  and 
then  connected  with  a  piece  of  metal  stuck  in  the  ground,  the 
current  takes  the  ground  as  a  conductor,  and  reaches  the 
zinc  at  the  south  end  of  the  house  ;  hence,  when  the  ground 
is  used  in  place  of  one  of  the  wires,  which  is  the  case  in  all 
telegraphs,  it  is  called  the  u  Ground  Circuit,"  which  was 
discovered,  in  its  application  to  telegraphs,  in  1837,  by  Stien- 
hiel,  of  Germany.  This  fact  enables  news  to  be  forwarded 
and  answers  returned,  by  using  a  single  wire  instead  of 
two. 

7.  Electro-Magnetism.  If  a  piece  of  iron  wire,  or  a  com- 
mon needle,  be  laid  on  iron-filings,  and  the  ends  of  the  two 
wires  from  each  end  of  the  house  or  battery  be  attached  to  its 
respective  ends,  or  one  end  of  the  needle  with  the  ground 
wire  or  plate,  and  the  other  with  one  wire  of  the  battery,  it  is 
found  while  the  electric  fluid  is  passing  through  it,  to  become 
a  magnet  and  to  attract  the  iron  filings.  The  moment,  how- 
ever, the  passage  of  the  fluid  or  current  is  interrupted,  by 


16 


HISTOKICAL  SKETCH  OF 


removing  the  end  of  either  wire,  the  piece  of  iron  or  needle 
loses  its  magnetism  and  the  filings  drop  off. 

8.  Electro- Magnets.  It  is  found,  if  the  iron  is  wrapped  a 
great  many  times  by  a  coil  of  covered  copper  wire,  having 
its  ends  free,  and  that  if  the  ends  of  the  wires  of  the  battery 
are  attached  to  them,  and  the  current  or  fluid  made  to  pass 
through  the  copper  coil  instead  of  the  metal,  that  the  inclosed 
metal,  while  the  fluid  is  passing,  is  converted  into  a  powerful 
magnet,  but  ceases  to  be  such  on  the  interruption  of  the  cur- 
rent by  breaking  the  connection.  Thus  the  iron  may  be  al- 
ternately magnetized  and  demagnetized,  at  the  will  of  the 
operator.  The  Electro-Magnetic  Telegraphs  are  all  founded 
upon  this  simple  fact.  Because,  by  having  a  small  piece  of 
metal  so  poised  that  a  small  spring  separates  its  end  from 
the  iron  when  no  electricity  is  passing,  yet  when  the  cur- 
rent is  put  on,  the  iron  is  instantaneously  sufficiently  magnet- 
ized to  attract  the  free  end  of  the  lever  against  itself,  by  over- 
Fig.  2. 


Morse's  Instrument 

coming  the  power  of  the  spring,  but  releases  its  hold  again 
the  moment  it  loses  its  magnetism,  and  the  spring  again  throws 
it  off.  Now  if  the  end  of  the  lever  has  a  sharp  point,  and  a 
ribbon-formed  slip  of  paper  is  reeled  off  by  a  train  of  clock- 


THE   MAGNETIC  TELEGRAPH.  17 

work  between  the  end  of  the  lever  and  the  magnet,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  every  time  the  lever  is  attracted  to  the  magnet  it 
will  indent  the  paper;  and  these  indentations,  by  varying 
their  numbers,  may  be  made  to  represent  the  letters  of  the 
alphabet.  Such  is,  in  substance,  Morse's  Telegraph.  Here 
(fig.  2),  we  have  a  large  spool  (S),  on  which  the  strip  of  paper 
is  wound,  and  clock-work  with  rollers,  which  give  the  strip  a 
steady  motion  onwards  under  the  stylus  upon  the  lever  of  the 
electro-magnet  (D).  There  is  a  stop  motion  of  the  lever  used 
to  draw  attention,  by  which  the  clock-work  is  brought  to  rest 
in  a  few  seconds  after  the  lever  ceases  to  act,  and  which  is  re- 
leased again  by  the  first  motion  of  the  lever.  This  ingenious 
mechanical  combination  of  Morse  forms  a  simple  and  efficient 
registering  machine.  • 

To  increase  the  mechanical  force  of  the  lever  and  magnet, 
let  us  suppose  that  at  the  station  a  hundred  miles  off,  a  small 
house  (or  battery)  is  built  similar  to  the  large  house,  say  with 
not  over  one-fortieth  of  its  number  of  rooms  (cups),  in  a  house 
of  one  hundred  rooms,  and  that  a  wire  from  its  north  end,  of 
only  forty  feet  long,  is  made  to  convey  a  current  to  increase 
the  power  of  the  local  magnetic  force  or  mechanical  action  of 
the  fluid  conveyed  one  hundred  miles  from  the  big  house. 
This  little  house  is  called  a  "local  battery,''  and  the  wire  at- 
tached to  it  a  "local  circuit." 

Mr.  Bain,  to  increase  the  metallic  decomposition  and  chem- 
ical action  in  his  Telegraph,  divides  or  sets  off  a  few  rooms 
(cups)  at  one  end  of  his  big  house,  and  conveys  a  wire  from 
them,  to  change  by  its  silent  chemical  action  (not  mechanical, 
for  he  can  use  a  weaker  current  than  Morse) — the  color  of  the 
prepared  paper  on  a  revolving  metallic  disc,  the  signs  being 
made  by  breaking  and  renewing  the  circuit.  The  Chemical 
Telegraph  was  discovered  by  Edward  Davy,  of  London,  and 
improved  by  Bain.  Bain  calls  his  arrangement,  which  is  a 
part  of  the  big  house  and  main  line,  a  "Branch  Circuit." 
We  learn  that  so  slight  a  current  of  electricity  is  necessary 
to  produce  chemical  action  in  the  Bain  instrument,  that  even 
the  use  of  a  branch  circuit  has  been  dispensed  with  on  the 
Bain's  New- York  and  Boston  line.  Effects  can  be  chemically 
2 


18  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

produced,  or  messages  recorded  by  Bain's  Instrument,  through 
the  action  of  a  current  which  would  be  too  feeble  to  excite  the 
mechanical  action  of  Morse's  instrument.  In  this  respect  it 
has  an  advantage  over  mere  mechanical  telegraphs. 

9.  Combination  of  Circuits.  Relay  and  Receiving  Magnets. 
— It  is  impossible  to  transmit  a  current  from  a  single  battery  in 
New- York  to  New  Orleans,  over  an  uninterrupted  wire,  unless 
the  current  should  acquire  from  some  source  an  augmentation 
of  fluid  on  the  way.  Just  as  it  becomes  necessary  to  have  canal 
feeders,  to  supply  the  water  lost  by  absorption,  or  evaporation. 
It  was  found  that  if  the  length  of  the  wire  be  extended 
several  hundred  miles  from  the  house,  instead  of  one  hundred, 
that  the  current  in  its  transmission  grows  weaker,  and  tends 
to  lose  its  force  by  diffusion,  particularly  if  the  air  be  damp,  or 
a  rain  storm  should  prevail.  To  supply  an  additional  amount 
•of  electricity  on  a  long  line,  batteries  (or  houses)  are  located  on 
an  average  of  every  hundred  miles,  chiefly  at  intermediate 
telegraph  stations,  in  cities,  or  villages.  Eelay  batteries  and 
receiving  magnets  were  first  discovered  by  Professor  Henry 
and  used  by  Wheatstone  and  Cook. 

To  understand  how,  at  the  termination  of  a  wire  one  hun- 
dred miles  from  the  battery  or  starting  point,  an  operator  can 
bring  into  action  another  current  generated  at  a  way-house 
(battery),  on  to  another  wire  of  another  hundred  miles  (more 
or  less),  let  us  suppose  the  following  arrangements  : — The  way- 
battery  is  stationed  near  the  termini  of  both  wires,  and  is  sup- 
posed to  be  in  connection  with  the  second  line  of  wire.  Sup- 
pose a  man  (an  electro-magnet)  is  made  to  stand  between  the 
ends  of  the  wires,  at  every  hundred  miles.  In  his  left  hand  he 
holds  the  end  of  the  first  wire,  while  his  right  arm  is  extended 
in  an  opposite  direction,  and  the  knuckles  of  the  hand  made 
to  come  almost  in  touching  distance  of  the  end  of  the  second 
wire,  which  has  affixed  to  it  a  spiral  spring,  attached  to  a 
small  piece  of  platina.  When  the  operator  at  the  start- 
ing-point closes  the  circuit,  or  puts  on  the  electric  fluid,  the 
piece  of  platina  is  drawn  against  the  knuckles  of  the  hand, 
which  at  the  same  time  forms  the  connection  through  the  whole 
distance,  and  with  the  local  batteries ;  the  quota  of  fluid  gene- 


THE  MAGNETIC  TELEGRAPH.  19 

rated  by  each,  being  at  the  same  moment  brought  into  action 
on  the  entire  line.  In  place  of  one  man  it  has  been  proposed 
to  employ  two  (two  electro-magnets)  between  the  termini  of 
wires  at  each  hundred  miles,  and  to  bring  them  into  contact, 
by  a  mechanical  contrivance  something  after  the  fashion  of 
two  men  shaking  hands,  while  each  holds  the  end  of  a  wire  in 
the  other  hand. 

Mr.  Charles  Bulkly,  superintendent  of  the  Washington  and 
New  Orleans  telegraph  line,  has  contrived  a  modification  of 
the  relay  or  connecting  magnets,  for  bringing  the  main  lines  into 
unison  of  action,  which  is  said  to  work  very  well. 

To  comprehend  more  fully  the  nature  of  the  arrangements 
at  present  most  commonly  in  use,  we  subjoin  the  following  from 
a  description  of  instruments  published  by  Daniel  Davis,  of  Bos- 
ton, 1851,  pp.  21-23,  which  describes  the  arrangements  for 
bringing  a  combination  of  circuits  into  action  more  in  detail, 
and  which  are  most  commonly  used  on  telegraph  lines  at  the 
present  time. 

The  effect  of  the  combination  of  circuits  is  to  enable  a 
weak  or  exhausted  current  to  bring  into  action,  and  substitute 
for  itself,  a  fresh  and  powerful  one.  This  is  an  essential  con- 
dition to  obtaining  useful  mechanical  results  from  electricity 
itself,  where  a  long  circuit  of  conductors  is  used,  and  accordingly 
it  received  the  attention  of  early  experimenters  with  the  tele- 
graph. This  principle  seems  to  have  been  first  successfully 
applied  by  Professor  Joseph  Henry,  of  Princeton  College,  in 
the  latter  part  of  1836.  He  was  thus  enabled  to  ring  large 
bells  at  a  distance,  by  means  of  a  combined  telegraphic  and 
local  circuit.  In  the  early  part  of  1837,  Wheatstone  in  Eng- 
land,* used  a  combining  instrument,  which  consisted  of  a  mag- 
netic needle,  so  arranged  as  to  dip  an  arch  of  wire  into  two 
mercury  cups,  when  deflected  by  a  feeble  current,  thus  com- 
pleting the  circuit  of  a  local  battery,  which  struck  a  signal-bell. 
Davy  patented  in  England,  in  1838,  f  a  system  of  combined 
circuits,  for  four  different  purposes  connected  with  his  tele- 
graph.    He  brought  into  action  a  local  circuit,  1st,  to  discolor 

*  London  Repertory  of  Patent  Inventions,  1839,  vol.  xi. 
f  London  Repertory  of  Patent  Inventions,  1839,  vol.  xii. 


20  HISTOEICAL  SKETCH  OF 

or  dye,  by  electro-decomposition,  the  calico  on  which  he  regis- 
tered his  signs;  2d,  to  actuate  an  electro-magnet  regulating 
the  motion  of  the  calico ;  3d,  to  direct  the  long  or  telegraphic 
circuit  to  either  of  two  branches,  by  means  of  a  receiving  in- 
strument placed  at  their  point  of  meeting,  and  operated  upon 
from  a  distance ;  4th,  he  provided  for  a  complete  system  of 
relays  of  long  circuits.  His  instrument  resembled  Wheat- 
stone's,  only  the  contact  was  made  by  two  surfaces  of  metal, 
without  the  use  of  mercury. 

The  receiving  magnet  used  by  Professor  Morse  is  a 
very  slight  modification  of  his  register,  the  platina  point  for 
completing  the  local  circuit  being  substituted  for  the  marking 
point.  The  magnet  is  surrounded  with  helices  of  fine  wire, 
which  multiply  the  effects  of  the  feeble  current,  and  the  whole 
instrument  is  constructed  with  delicacy.  By  Morse's  patent 
of  1840,  this  is  applied  to  the  combination -of  long  circuits,  or 
the  relay  of  currents  ;  and  by  his  patent  of  1846,  it  is  applied 
to  operating  the  register  by  a  local  or  office  circuit.  The  elec- 
tro-magnet, armature  and  lever,  constituting  the  chief  part  of 
both  these  instruments,  is  simply  the  electro-magnet  of  Profes- 
sor Henry,  described  in  1831. 

In  a  line  of  telegraph  of  several  hundred  or  thousand  miles, 
any  number  of  receiving  magnets  may  be  interspersed,  as  they 
do  not  interrupt  the  circuit.  Each  one  of  these  may  work  a 
local  register,  and  thus  the  same  message  may  be  recorded  at 
a  multitude  of  places,  practically  at  the  same  moment  of  time. 
If  the  receiving  magnet  is  to  effect  a  relay  of  currents,  the  mo- 
tion of  its  lever  brings  into  action  a  powerful  battery  on  the 
spot,  which  works  the  next  receiving  magnet  in  succession, 
and  so  on. 

The  use  of  the  receiving  magnet,  however,  for  the  purpose 
of  relay  of  the  galvanic  force,  may  be  dispensed  with  by  simply 
increasing  the  number  of  cups,  and  distributing  them  in  groups 
along  the  line.  Thus  Mr.  Sears  C.  "Walker,  of  the  Coast  Sur- 
vey, writes,  "We  have  made  abundant  experiments  on  the 
line  from  Philadelphia  to  Louisville,  a  distance  in  the  air  of 
nine  hundred  miles,  and  in  a  circuit  of  eighteen  hundred  miles. 
The  performance  of  this  long  line  was  better  than  that  of  any 


THE   MAGNETIC  TELEGRAPH.  21 

of  the  shorter  lines  has  hitherto  been.  I  learn,  from  an  au- 
thentic source,  that  the  same  success  attends  the  work  from 
Philadelphia  to  St.  Louis,  A  distance  in  circuit  of  one 

TWELFTH  OF  THE  EARTH'S   CIRCUMFERENCE.      The  number  of 

Grove's  pint  cups  used  is  about  one  for  every  twenty  miles. 
It  is  natural  to  conclude,  from  this  experiment,  that,  if  a  tele- 
graph, line  round  the  earth  were  practicable,  twelve  hundred 
Grove's  pint  cups,  in  equidistant  groups  of  fifties,  would  suffice 
for  the  galvanic  power  for  the  whole  line."  (See  Sillimarfs 
Journal,  March,  1849.) 

By  the  foregoing  explanations,  we  are  better  enabled  to 
understand  what  is  meant  by  "  relay  batteries"  "relay"  or  "  lo- 
cal magnets  "  "  receiving  magnets ,"  and  u  combined  circuits." 

If  a  registering  instrument  be  placed  at  each  station  in 
connection  with  the  way  magnet,  it  is  clear  that  it  can  be  op- 
erated without  arresting  the  current,  and  hence  copies  of  the 
same  message  can  be  read  off  at  each  intermediate  station  be- 
tween points  however  distant.  This  is  called  dropping  copies. 
This  facility  of  having  messages  dropped  at  intermediate  sta- 
tions, was  said  to  have  been  first  demonstrated  in  this  country 
by  a  Baltimore  operator.  The  plan  at  first  was  to  receive  a 
message  at  one  station,  and  then  reforward  it,  and  each  way- 
operator  had  to  be  on  the  look-out.  This  party  finding  this 
irksome  for  through  messages,  left  his  instrument  in  the  cir- 
cuit, when  he  found  he  could  take  a  copy  of  what  was  passing 
without  interfering  with  its  transmission  to  its  ultimate  desti- 
nation. 

Fig.  3. 


A  Finger-Key. 


10.  A  Finger -Key  is  merely  a  small  office  spring-lever,  with 
an  ivory  button  at  one  end,  on  which  an  operator  presses  his 
finger  when  he  wishes  to  connect  the  circuit,  or  secure  the 


22  HISTOKICAL  SKECTH  OF 

passage  of  the  fluid,  and  raises  it  when  the  spring  throws 
back  the  lever  and  breaks  the  circuit — which  can  be  done 
with  great  rapidity.  This  may  be  understood  from  the  fact, 
that  it  requires  from  one  to  four  or  five  motions  of  the  finger 
to  make  a  single  letter  or  figure  ;  and  yet  an  expert  operator 
can  send  at  least  80  to  100  letters  per  minute,  and  about  1000 
words  or  more  per  hour. 

Further  improvements  in  time,  must  develope  new  and  im- 
portant powers  in  electric  telegraphs. 

Fie.  4. 


Bain's  Call. 


11.  The  Call. — As  the  Bain  Electro-chemical  Eecording 
Telegraph  acts  silently,  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  contrive 
this  "call"  whereby  one  operator  at  a  distant  point  can  give 
notice  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  wire  that  he  is  ready  to 
send  a  message ;  whereupon  he  can  proceed  to  put  the  chemi- 
cal recording  instrument  into  connection  with  the  current 
ready  for  operation. 

The  call,  commonly  used  on  the  Bain  lines,  is  represented  in 
fig.  4.  It  consists  of  a  U-shaped  receiving  magnet,  placed 
horizontally  on  the  board,  with  two  coils  of  wire  surrounding 
the  legs.  An  armature,  supported  on  an  upright  bar,  so  as  to 
form  a  cross,  is  seen  in  the  figure,  before  the  poles  of  the 
magnet.  This  is  held  back  by  a  delicate  spiral  spring,  gradu- 
ated by  a  screw,  which  is  also  seen  to  the  left.    Above  are  two 


THE   MAGNETIC  TELEGEAPH. 


23 


circular  plates  of  glass.  The  upright  bar,  armed  with  two 
little  knobs,  to  perform  the  part  of  a  hammer,  rises  between 
these  plates.  When  the  armature  is  drawn  to  the  magnet  it 
strikes  one  of  them,  and,  on  being  drawn  back  it  strikes  the 
other.  As  they  are  of  different  tone,  the  repetition  of  this 
signal  at  once  draws  attention  to  the  register. 

This  call  is  similar  in  purpose  or  principle  to  those  used 
by  Soemmering  in  1811,  Schilling  in. 1831,  and  Henry,  Stein- 
heil,  and  Wheatstone  in  1836  and  1837. — (See  Davis's  Descrip- 
tion of  Instruments.) 

Fig.  5. 


House's  Printing  Telegraph. 


In  House's  beautifully  contrived  printing  telegraph — which 
prints  messages  in  Eoman  letters — -'the  electric  current  is 
merely  employed  for  signalizing,  while  the  mechanical  force 
of  magnetism  and  atmospheric  pressure  is  used  to  imprint  the 
letters  on  a  revolving  piece  of  paper. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  convey  a  popular  idea  of  its  struc- 
ture, or  peculiar  method  of  operation.  We  shall  try  to  de- 
scribe it  so  that  its  operation  may  be  understood.  A  per- 
spective view  of  the  instrument  is  shown  in  fig.  5,  comprising 
both  the  transmitting  and  receiving  apparatus.  The  prin- 
ciple by  which  the  different  letters  are  signalized  over  the 


24  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

wire,  is  the  transmission  of  a  given  number  of  electrical 
impulses  for  each  letter,  by  the  rapid  opening  and  closing 
of  the  circuit.  This  is  accomplished  by  means  of  the  twenty- 
six  letter-keys,  and  the  two  keys  for  the  dot  and  dash,  seen 
in  the  figure.  Under  the  key -board  is  a  horizontal  cylin- 
der, which  is  kept  in  revolution  by  turning  the  crank  and 
wheel,  seen  at  the  left  of  the  figure.  At  one  end  of  this  cylin- 
der is  a  circuit- wheel  or  break-piece,  having  fourteen  projec- 
tions and  fourteen  spaces,  on  which  a  spring,  connected  with 
the  telegraphic  circuit,  bears.  Consequently  the  battery  cir- 
cuit is  completed  fourteen  times,  and  broken  fourteen  times, 
with  each  revolution  of  the  cylinder.  Under  each  key  a  pro- 
jection  or  stop  is  placed  upon  the  cylinder  in  such  a  position 
that  when  the  key  is  depressed,  and  comes  in  contact  with  it, 
the  cylinder  shall  have  performed  such  part  of  a  revolution  as 
to  have  made  and  broken  the  circuit  the  number  of  times 
which  represents  the  letter  corresponding  to  the  key.  The 
motion  of  the  cylinder  is  communicated  by  means  of  slight 
friction,  and  it  is  accordingly  arrested  by  depressing  the  key. 
This  is  the  transmitting  or  "composing"  apparatus. 

The  receiving  or  printing  apparatus  is  seen  behind  the 
key-board  in  the  figure.  There  is  one  such  at  each  extremity 
of  the  line,  to  receive  messages  transmitted  from  the  other  ex- 
tremity. But  both  are  left  constantly  in  the  circuit,  so  that 
the  operator  signalizes  or  prints  the  messages  which  he  sends 
both  at  the  distant  end  of  the  line  and  immediately  before  his 
eyes.  The  printing  instrument,  which  we  are  examining,  is, 
therefore,  a  fac-simile  of  the  one  which  receives  the  communi- 
cation at  a  distance  frorn  the  operator  at  the  key-board  in  the 
figure. 

The  printing  apparatus  consists  of  an  upright  rod-electro- 
magnet, inclosed  in  the  metallic  cylinder  A ;  of  a  little  engine, 
operated  by  condensed  air,  and  moving  an  escapement  at  B ; 
of  a  type-wheel  at  C ;  of  a  printing  eccentric  and  lever,  the 
end  of  which  is  seen  at  D ;  of  a  black  coloring  band  at  E  ;  and 
the  strip  of  printing  paper  at  F  F. 

The  electro-magnet  consists  of  a  compound  rod  of  several 
short  pieces  of  iron  strung  upon  a  rod  of  brass.     This  rod  is 


THE  MAGNETIC  TELEGRAPH.  25 

inclosed  in  a  tube  of  brass,  attached  to  which,  within,  are 
several  short  tubes  of  iron,  corresponding  to  and  reacting 
with  the  pieces  belonging  to  the  axial  magnet.  This  whole 
system  of  tubular  and  axial  magnets  is  inclosed  in  a  single 
helix  of  fine  wire,  connected  with  the  telegraphic  circuit.  The 
tube  is  fixed,  but  the  compound  rod  is  movable,  and  attracted 
downwards  by  several  co-operating  reactions  when  the  cur- 
rent passes.  This  rod  is  suspended  by  a  cross  wire,  which 
may  be  seen  stretched  across  the  top  of  the  cylinder  A,  and 
acts  as  a  spring,  drawing  the  rod  back  after  the  current  has 
ceased  to  act.  A  very  rapid  vibration  of  the  rod  is  thus  ob- 
tained, corresponding  to  the  opening  and  closing  of  the  circuit 
effected  at  the  transmitting  end  of  the  line. 

Connected  with  the  wheel  is  a  condensing  pump  at  Gr, 
which  keeps  up  a  supply  of  condensed  air.  At  the  upper  part 
of  the  electro-magnetic  rod  is  a  collar- valve,  which  changes  the 
direction  of  the  current  of  condensed  air  with  each  vibration 
of  the  rod,  though  these  vibrations  are  only  one  sixty -fourth 
of  an  inch.  The  air  is  thus  admitted  to  opposite  sides  of  the 
cylinder  of  a  little  atmospheric  engine,  which,  by  means  of  its 
reciprocating  motion,  permits  the  action  of  an  escapement, 
tooth  by  tooth,  and  the  corresponding  revolution  of  the  type- 
wheel,  which  is  impelled  by  a  spring  kept  wound  up  by  the 
manual  power  employed  at  the  crank  and  wheel. 

The  result  is,  that  the  type-wheel  (K),  which  has  twenty- 
eight  teeth,  revolves  just  as  far  as  the  cylinder  attached  to  the 
circuit- wheel,  at  the  distant  extremity  of  the  line,  has  been  per- 
mitted to  revolve  by  depressing  one  of  the  keys.  Each  break, 
as  well  as  each  completion  of  the  circuit,  thus  corresponds  to  a 
letter.  It  only  requires  that  the  instruments  at  both  ends  of 
the  line  should  be  set  to  the  same  letter,  and  then  the  cylinder 
at  one  extremity,  and  the  type-wheel  at  the  other,  regulated 
by  the  pulsations  of  the  current,  will  always  revolve  at  the 
game  rate  ;  and  if  the  cylinder  is  stopped  at  any  one  point  re- 
presenting a  letter,  the  type-wheel  is  stopped  at  the  same  point, 
and  presents  the  type  which  it  carries  on  its  periphery  to  the 
strip  of  paper  in  front  of  it. 

When  the  type- wheel  stops,  an  eccentric,  actuated  also  by 


26 


HISTOEICAL  SKETCH  OF 


the  local  power  at  the  crank  and  wheel,  brings  the  black  band 
and  paper  forcibly  against  the  type,  and  leaves  the  impression 
of  the  letter.  The  paper  is  then  carried  on  just  the  distance  of 
a  letter,  and  is  ready  for  another  impression.  Eoman  letters 
are  thus  printed  over  a  long  line  at  the  rate  of  from  one  hun- 
dred and  and  fifty  to  more  than  two  hundred  a  minute. 

In  the  figure,  the  letter  A  will  be  observed  at  a  little  win- 
dow above  the  type- wheel.  This  letter  is  on  a  letter- wheel, 
connected  with  the  type-wheel  below,  so  that  the  letters  may 
be  presented  to  the  sight  at  the  same  time  as  printed ;  or  the 
printing  eccentric  may  be  detached,  and  only  the  visible  let- 
ters read. 

The  action  of  the  electricity  in  this  telegraph  is  merely  to 
produce  correspondence  of  motion  in  machinery  at  different 
ends  of  the  line,  in  the  same  manner  that  uniformity  of  rate 
has  been  secured  in  clocks  at  different  places,  regulated  by  the 
electro-telegraphic  current.  All  the  mechanical  results  of 
House's  telegraph  are  produced  by  local  mechanical  power. 
For  this  purpose,  clock-work,  having  a  regular  rate,  would  be 
preferable  to  manual  power. 

Fig.  6. 


Bain's  Telegraph. 

Bain's   Telegraph.— The  decomposition  of   a  metallic 
point  in  contact  with  chemically  prepared  paper,  by  the  action 


THE  MAGNETIC  TELEGRAPH.  27 

of  an  electrical  current,  has  already  been  referred  to.  The 
telegraph  of  Bain,  represented  in  the  cut  on  p.  26,  is  con- 
structed on  this  principle,  and  is  the  most  simple  now  in  use. 
The  indication  of  the  current  takes  place  here  without  motion. 
The  circular  tablet,  on  which  the  writing  is  obtained,  is  moved 
by  clock-work,  at  a  uniform  rate,  under  the  wire,  which  con- 
stitutes the  telegraphic  pen.  But  the  pen  itself  never  stirs.  It 
bears  silently  on  the  tablet,  and  as  the  eye  observes  the 
point  of  contact,  now  a  blank  space,  and  now  a  deep  blue 
line,  appears  upon  the  retreating  surface.  This  is  the  re- 
cord of  the  intermitting  current,  sent  over  the  wires  from  a 
distance. 

In  the  figure,  the  clock-work  which  moves  the  tablet  is 
seen  on  the  right.  Its  motion  is  regulated  by  a  fly-wheel 
above,  the  vanes  of  which  can  be  inclined  so  as  to  present 
greater  or  less  resistance  to  the  air.  A  lever  or  brake  bears 
upon  the  axle  of  the  fly-wheel,  by  moving  which  lever  the 
clock-work  may  be  stopped,  or  allowed  to  go  on.  The  circu- 
lar disc,  or  tablet  of  brass,  carried  by  the  clock-work,  is  seen 
on  the  left  of  the  figure,  inclined  towards  the  observer.  In 
the  centre  of  the  disc,  occupying  the  shaded  portion,  a  spiral 
groove  is  cut,  in  which  the  guide  to  the  pen  travels.  This 
guide  is  seen,  attached  at  right  angles  to  the  penholder,  which 
extends  over  the  disc.  The  pen-wire  is  seen,  held  by  a  little 
clamp,  descending  so  as  to  touch  the  tablet.  This  wire,  of 
course,  traces  a  spiral  line  of  dots  upon  the  outer  ring  of  the 
disc's  surface,  exactly  corresponding,  in  the  distance  of  its 
lines,  to  the  spiral  groove  within,  which  serves  as  a  guide.  By 
this  beautiful  contrivance,  the  writing  is  disposed  in  a  close 
spiral  line  of  dots,  to  represent  letters,  occupying  but  very 
little  space. 

The  outer  part  of  the  surface  of  the  disc,  upon  which  the 
letters  are  represented  in  the  figure,  is  covered  with  a  ring  of 
moistened  and  chemically  prepared  paper.  This  may  be  re- 
newed or  removed  at  pleasure.  The  penholder  is  connected 
with  the  positive  wire  of  the  telegraph,  and  the  tablet  with  the 
negative.  The  circuit  of  conductors  is  completed  by  the 
moistened  paper  which  intervenes,  and  which  the  current  ac- 


28  HISTOEICAL  SKETCH. 

cordingly  traverses.  This  paper  is  moistened  with  a  solution 
of  the  yellow  prussiate  of  potash,  acidulated  with  nitric  or  sul- 
phuric acid.  The  pen-wire  consists  of  iron.  When  the  cur- 
rent passes,  this  pen-wire  is  attacked  by  the  solution,  and  the 
portion  of  iron  dissolved  unites  with  the  prussiate  of  potash  to 
form  the  color  known  as  Prussian  blue,  which  permanently 
stains  or  dyes  the  paper. 

A  modification  in  the  mode  of  marking  has  been  introduced 
in  this  telegraph  by  Mr.  Eogers,  of  Baltimore.  He  substitutes 
a  pen  carrying  an  ink  which  is  decomposed  by  the  current 
when  in  contact  with  the  brass  disc,  without  any  intervening 
paper.  A  superficial  stain  is  produced  on  the  metallic  surface, 
which  is  easily  obliterated  by  friction. 

In  Bain's  telegraph,  no  receiving  magnet  is  necessary. 
The  current  traversing  the  long  wires  is  sufficient  to  leave  its 
trace  upon  the  paper.  The  decomposition  in  Bain's  instru- 
ment is  instantaneous.  This  is  an  advantage  over  mechanical 
means  to  complete  and  break  the  circuit,  as  it  secures  greater 
speed  for  the  purpose  of  rapid  communication. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

TELEGRAPH  LITIGATION,  EVIDENCE,  DECISIONS,  ETC. 

In  a  subsequent  part  of  this  work  will  be  found  a  brief 
sketch  of  the  commencement,  progress,  and  present  length 
of  telegraph  lines  in  the  United  States. 

Attempts  to  introduce  instruments  invented  by  House, 
Bain,  and  others,  have  been  legally  contested  by  Professor 
Morse  and  his  associates,  on  the  ground  that  they  infringed 
his  patent  rights. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  give  a  rational  account  of  the 
rise  and  progress  of  the  electric  telegraph  in  the  United  States 
without  referring  to  these  trials,  had  before  the  United  States 
District  Courts.  Though  a  delicate  task  to  give  a  clear  analy- 
sis of  cases  in  which  so  much  feeling  as  well  as  pecuniary 
interest  were  involved,  yet,  in  making  the  attempt,  we  have 
endeavored  to  do  so  with  impartiality.  We  have  simply 
sought  to  arrive  at  the  truth  irrespective  of  party  interest — 
sustained  by  the  legal  evidence  of  competent  and  respectable 
witnesses.  That  parties  on  either  side  will  feel  satisfied  with 
the  result,  is  more  than  we  can  predict.  The  litigation  which 
has  been  so  perseveringly  followed  up,  in  respect  to  electric 
telegraph  rights  has  involved  a  large  expenditure  of  money, 
both  on  account  of  plaintiffs  and  defendants.  Some  of  the 
cases  are  still  before  the  courts.  Few  patent  cases  have  ever 
puzzled  lawyers  and  judges  more  than  those  which  have 
been  prosecuted  in  this  country,  by  Professor  Morse  and  his 
friends,  against  other  parties.  Suits  respecting  ordinary  pa- 
tents are  usually  considered,  both  in  this  country  and  in  Eng- 
land, to  be  surrounded  with  many  difficulties. 

In  the  case  of  electric  telegraphs  there  are  so  many  tech- 


30  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

nical  terms, — the  operations  of  the  principal  agent  so  occult — 
its  development  so  ingenious — the  mechanical  and  chemical 
contrivances  so  delicate  as  almost  to  elude  the  comprehension 
of  the  uninitiated.  When  the  complexity  of  the  subject  is 
thus  considered  in  connection  with  the  legal  technicalities  of 
the  patent  laws,  it  will  be  imagined  that  the  minds  of  judges 
must  be  strongly  exercised  to  enable  them  to  clearly  under- 
stand the  subject,  and  to  arrive  at  a  just  decision. 

The  trials  referred  to  have  not  been  without  useful  results. 
A  vast  amount  of  valuable  information  has  been  elicited  re- 
specting discoveries  in  electrical  and  electro-magnetic  science, 
and  their  bearing  shown  on  the  practical  establishment  of 
electric  telegraphs.  Without  the  evidence  adduced  in  these 
cases,  and  afterwards  printed,  no  such  mass  of  information 
could  have  been  elsewhere  found  compiled,  so  well  calculated 
to  elucidate  the  annals  of  the  electric  telegraph. 

The  first  trial  had,  was  on  an  application  by  Professor 
Morse  for  an  injunction  against  Henry  O'Keilly,  to  prevent 
his  using  an  instrument  invented  by  Zook  and  Barnes,  of 
Cincinnati ;  and  which  was  brought  before  Judge  Monroe  of 
the  United  States  District  Court  of  Kentucky,  the  result  of 
which  we  have  alluded  to  at  another  place. 

The  next  action  was  commenced  by  F.  0.  J.  Smith,  chief 
proprietor  of  the  New- York  and  Boston  Morse  telegraph  line, 
against  Hugh  Downing  et  al.  Smith  was  said  to  be  a  part- 
ner in  Morse's  patent  to  the  extent  of  one-fourth.  Hugh 
Downing  was  the  constructor  and  president  of  the  line  from 
New- York  to  Boston,  worked  by  House's  printing  telegraph. 

Smith  sued  for  an  injunction  against  Downing  before  the 
late  Hon.  Levi  Woodbury.  The  case  was  tried  at  Boston  in 
1850.  The  Hon.  Judge  Curtis,  (Woodbury's  successor)  was 
.counsel  for  plaintiffs,  and  Mr.  Gifford,  of  New- York,  principal 
counsel  for  defendants. 

The  printed  testimony  taken  in  the  case  amounted  to  be- 
tween 400  and  500  pages. 

A  large  number  of  scientific  witnesses  were  examined, 
among  whom  were  Dr.  Wm.  E.  Channing,  Professor  Hare, 
Professor  Joseph  Henry,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 


THE  ELECTEIC  TELEGRAPH.  31 

tute,  Professor  Eenwick,  of  Columbia  College,  Dr.  Chilton, 
Professor  Silliman,  Sen.,  Dr.  Chas.  T.  Jackson,  besides  many 
other  men  distinguished  for  chemical,  mechanical  or  engineer- 
ing skill.  The  leading  weight  of  the  whole  testimony  of  the 
gentlemen  given  above,  having  any  direct  bearing,  went  to 
show  that  House's  instrument  did  not  infringe  the  patent 
claims  of  Morse. 

The  result  was  that  Judge  Woodbury,  after  due  delibera- 
tion, denied  the  injunction,  and  decided  that  House's  printing 
telegraph  .did  not  infringe  the  claims  of  Morse. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  evidence  referred  to  above, 
which  had  any  bearing  on  the  subject,  was  reproduced  at  a 
subsequent  trial  had  at  Philadelphia  in  1851,  before  Judge 
Kane,  of  the  U.  S.  District  Court  for  the  eastern  district  of 
Pennsylvania,  in  the  case  of  Benjamin  B.  French  et  al.  vs. 
Henry  J.  Rogers  et  al.  The  plaintiff  was  president  of  the 
Morse  New- York  and  Washington  line,  and  the  defendant 
represented  another  New- York  and  Washington  line,  worked 
by  Bain's  instruments.  In  this  case,  it  was  claimed,  that  the 
use  of  Bain's  instrument  was  an  infringement  of  Morse's  pa- 
tents ;  hence  an  injunction  was  sued  for. 

The  evidence  taken  by  complainants  and  respondents  made 
about  1000  octavo  pages,  embracing  all  the  leading  and  impor- 
tant evidence  submitted  on  the  previous  trial. 

Judge  Kane,  contrary  to  the  expectation  of  almost  every 
one  who  had  examined  the  subject,  decided  for  plaintiffs,  and 
granted  the  injunction.  We  shall  show  from  the  evidence 
submitted  on  the  trial,  in  another  chapter,  the  extraordinary 
character  of  the  decision.  The  testimony  adduced  by  the  de- 
fence clearly  proves  it  to  be  unsound  and  untenable. 

Before,  however,  reaching  the  division  of  our  work  referred 
to,  it  may  be  as  well  to  touch  upon  some  of  the  facts  stated  by 
witnesses  in  the  case  of  Smith  vs.  Downing,  which  are  more 
interesting  as  illustrative  of  the  history  of  telegraphs,  than  as 
important  direct  testimony. 

Our  chronological  statement,  in  its  main  features,  is  sus- 
tained by  Dr.  Channing  in  his  evidence  in  the  case  of  Smith 
vs.  Downing  at  Boston.     See  p.  41  of  the  printed  testimony. 


32  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

In  this  case,  also,  Oliver  Byrne,  at  p.  199,  among  othei 
things  gives  the  following  statement : 

"  In  the  year  1830,  I  attended  the  public  lectures  of  Abraham 
Booth  (afterward  scientific  reporter  for  the  Times  newspaper,  and  who 
became  Dr.  Booth),  delivered  in  Dublin,  among  other  subjects,  on  elec- 
tricity and  electro-magnetism.  In  said  lectures,  the  said  Booth,  in  my 
presence,  used  in  combination  a  long  circuit  of  insulated  wire  conduct- 
ors, or  galvanic  battery,  an  electro-magnet  with  an  armature  and  mer- 
cury cups  to  join  and  disjoin  the  circuit,  with  which  he  magnetized  and 
demagnetized  the  iron  of  the  electro-magnet,  causing  it  to  attract  the 
armature  when  the  circuit  was  joined,  and  to  recede  from  it  when  dis- 
joined. Mr.  Booth,  at  that  time,  stated  to  his  audiences  that  that  power 
could  be  produced  and  used  at  distant  places,  as  signs  of  information ; 
and  he  repeatedly  illustrated  what  he  meant,  by  causing  the  armature 
to  approach  the  magnet,  and  then  to  fall  from  it  on  the  floor,  stating  at 
the  same  time  that  it  made  marks  by  so  falling." 

Dr.  Channing,  in  respect  to  the  order  of  discovery,  has  the 
following  in  his  testimony  referred  to  above : 

"Before  the  year  1750,  the  apparently  instantaneous  passage  of 
electricity  through  several  miles  of  wire,  and  even  the  use  of  the  ground 
for  the  return  circuit  had  been  observed.  Various  telegraphs  had  been 
invented  and  described  during  the  first  period  ;  and  in  1798  Betancourt 
is  stated  to  have  operated  successfully  in  transmitting  signals  on  a  line 
of  26  miles,  between  Madrid  and  Aranguez.  (See  Sturgeon's  Annals 
of  Electricity,  vol.  iii.)  During  the  second  period,  telegraphs  by  free 
electricity  were  described  and  used,  and  also  the  galvanic  telegraph  of 
Soemmering  and  Dr.  Coxe,  in  which  the  indications  were  made  for  the 
most  part  by  the  decomposition  of  water. 

Soon  after  Professor  Oersted's  discovery  of  electro-magnetism,  Am- 
pere described  the  first  electro-magnetic  telegraph  in  his  memoir,  in  the 
Annales  de  Chemie  of  1820 ;  he  describes  the  use  of  the  deflection  of 
the  needle  for  signalizing  letters  at  any  distance,  by  means  of  depress- 
ing signal  keys  to  close  and  break  the  circuit.  (See  Annales  de  Che- 
mie et  Physique,  vol.  xv.,  p.  73:  1820.)  The  use  of  signal  keys  in 
combination  with  the  telegraph  was  thus  early  invented  and  described." 

At  p.  40,  S.  vs.  D.,  he  states : 

"  I  believe  the  connection  of  the  graphic  register  with  the  electric 


THE   MAGNETIC  TELEGKAPH.  33 

telegraph  to  have  been  made  and  published  by  Stienheil,  in  Germany, 
before  the  date  of  the  caveat  of  S.  B.  Morse,  October,  1837.  In  the 
paper  of  Stienheil,  included  in  the  transactions  of  the  French  Academy 
of  Sciences  of  the  10th  September,  1838,  and  published  in  the  Comptes 
Rendus,  of  1838,  he  described  the  results  of  the  practical  operation  of 
his  graphic  telegraph,  for  more  than  a  year  previously,  between  Munich 
and  Bogenhausen;  and  I  understand  the  19th  of  July,  1837,  to  be  re- 
ferred to  by  him  as  an  historical  date,  on  or  before  which  his  electro- 
magnetic telegraph  was  in  actual  operation  and  public  use. 

"  In  an  article  by  Stienheil,  translated  in  Sturgeon's  Annals  of 
Electricity,  of  March  and  April,  1839,  the  use  of  posts  for  insulation,  of 
what  is  technically  called  the  ground  circuit,  and  of  iron  instead  of  cop- 
per wires  for  conductors,  facts  or  inventions  of  great  importance  to  the 
practical  operation  of  the  telegraph,  are  fully  described.  I  consider 
Stienheil,  together  with  Gauss  and  Weber,  who  erected  their  telegraph 
at  Gottingen  in  1833  and  '34,  as  the  explorers  of  the  electric  telegraph, 
to  whom  the  most  important  part  of  its  practical  application  is  un- 
doubtedly due." 

Professor  S.  F.  B.  Morse  claims  that  trie  first  time  the  idea 
of  an  electro -magnetic  telegraph  entered  his  mind,  was  as  he 
came  home  from  France  in  the  ship  Sully,  in  1832.  Dr.  Chas. 
T.  Jackson,  of  Boston,  being  a  passenger  in  the  same  vessel, 
claims  to  have  imparted  the  first  ideas  of  such  an  enterprise  to 
Professor  Morse,  which  the  latter  denies ;  and  both  have  intro- 
duced elaborate  statements  and  evidence  to  maintain  their  re- 
lative declarations,  though,  however,  seeing  that  so  much,  had 
been  already  done  to  establish,  the  practicability  of  electric 
and  electro-magnetic  telegraphs  prior  to  their  crossing  the  At- 
lantic together,  in  1832,  we  cannot  perceive  that  the  claims  of 
either  for  suggestions  at  that  time,  possessed  any  originality, 
or  had  any  thing  to  do  with  the  history  of  telegraphs. 

Dr.  Jackson  claims  that  he  had  a  small  electro-magnet  with 
him,  on  board  the  packet-ship,  and  that  he  explained  its 
character  and  functions  to  Morse,  and  suggested  the  prac- 
ticability of  an  electro -magnetic  telegraph  to  him.  He  also 
claims  that  he  suggested  to  Morse  some  general  idea  of  a  me- 
chanical contrivance  similar  to  his  port-rule  and  type,  which 
Morse  however,  in  his  own  examination  denied,  and  intro- 
3 


34  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

duced  testimony  in  favor  of  his  statement.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
it  will  be  seen  by  the  evidence  of  Mr.  Avery  in  another  part 
of  this  work,  that  the  type  and  port-rule,  first  contrived  by 
Morse,  proved  of  no  practical  utility,  and  indeed  proved  a 
failure  in  attempts  to  reduce  it  to  practice. 

Professor  Henry  to  whom  so  much  is  due  for  his  discove- 
ries in  electro-magnetism,  and  who  may  be  said  to  have  been 
the  first  to  discover  the  practicability  of  producing  mechanical 
effects,  or  telegraph  signs  at  great  distances,  gives  much 
interesting  testimony  in  the  case  of  Smith  vs.  Downing. 
But  as  we  have  drawn  largely  from  it  in  a  future  chapter, 
we  will  only  in  the  present  place  refer  to  a  statement  made 
to  Professor  Henry,  by  Dr.  Levi  Gale,  who  became  asso- 
ciated with  Professor  Morse,  and  at  one  time  was  part  owner 
of  his  patent,  and  who  is  now  an  Examiner  in  the  Patent 
Office  at  Washington.  Professor  Henry  says  Dr.  Gale  told 
him  that,  when  he,  Gale,  first  became  connected  with  Pro- 
fessor Morse,  about  1837,  he,  Morse,  had  not  succeeded  in  pro- 
ducing effects  at  a  distance ;  that  when  he  first  called  in,  he 
found  Professor  Morse  could  not  by  an  electro-magnet,  pro- 
duce effects  at  the  end  of  a  copper  wire,  of  a  few  yards  in 
length,  hung  around  a  room  in  the  University  of  New- York. 
Dr.  Gale  asked  him  if  he  had  seen  the  paper  published  on  the 
subject  by  Professor  Henry,  in  Sillimarfs  Journal,  and  he  an- 
swered "No."  He  then  informed  Mr.  Morse  that  he  would 
find  the  principles  of  success  explained  in  that  paper — that 
instead  of  a  battery  of  a  single  element,  he  should  employ  one 
of  a  number  of  pairs ;  that  instead  of  a  magnet  with  a  short 
wire,  he  should  use  one  with  a  long  coil. 

Mr.  Gale  stated  that  he  had  apparatus  of  the  kind  in  the 
building,  and  that  by  applying  it,  action  was  produced  through 
the  wire  for  a  distance  of  half  a  mile.— See  page  92,  &  vs.  I),  et  als. 

It  may  be  well  to  notice  the  fact  as  a  link  in  telegraph 
records,  that  Mr.  Harrison  G.  Dyar  in  1826  attempted  to  estab- 
lish an  electric  telegraph  at  the  race-course  on  Long  Island, 
New- York. 

The  account  of  Dyar's  experiment  is  given  by  himself,  in 
a  letter  to  Luther  J.  Bell,  Esq.,  living  near  Boston. 


THE   MAGNETIC   TELEGKAPH.  35 


His  letter  to  Mr.  Bell  is  dated,  "31  Kue  de  la  Madeline, 
Paris,  March  8,  1848."  It  is  too  long  to  give  entire,  which. 
seems  to  have  been  written  in  reply  to  inquiries  made 
by  Mr.  Bell,  regarding  his  establishment  of  an  electric  tele- 
graph, on  Long  Island,  in  1826.  He  claims  that  Professor 
Morse's  mode  in  representing  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  is 
similar  to  his  own  : — 


"  Since  reading  your  letter,  when  searching  for  some  papers  in  re- 
ference to  my  connection  with  this  subject,  I  found  a  letter  of  introduc- 
tion, dated  the  day  before  my  departure  from  America,  in  February, 
1831,  from  an  old  and  good  friend,  Charles  Walker,  to  his  brother-in- 
law,  S.  F:  B.  Morse,  artist,  at  that  time  in  Europe.  At  the  sight  of 
this  letter,  it  occurred  to  me  that  this  Mr.  Morse  might  be  the  same 
person  as  Mr.  Morse  of  the  electric  telegraph,  which  I  found  to  be  the 
case.  The  fact  of  the  patentee  of  this  telegraph  being  so  identical  with 
my  own,  being  the  brother-in-law  and  living  with  my  friend  and  legal 
counsel,  Charles  Walker,  at  the  time  of  and  subsequent  to  my  experi- 
ments on  the  wire,  or  electric  telegraph,  in  1826  and  182*7 — or  about 
twenty  years  ago — has  changed  my  opinion  as  to  my  remaining  passive 
and  allowing  another  to  enjoy  the  honor  of  a  discovery  which,  by  pri- 
ority, is  clearly  due  to  me,  and  which,  presumptively,  is  only  a  continu- 
ation of  my  plans,  without  any  material  invention  on  the  part  of 
another." — (See  evidence  in  case  of  S.  and  D.,  p.  20,  A.) 

Mr.  Dyar,  although  deserving  of  much  credit,  did  not  ac- 
complish any  more,  if  as  much,  as  others  who  had  preceded 
him,  and  particularly  Ampere,  in  France,  in  1820.  From  his 
statement,  it  seems  likely  that  Professor  Morse  may  possibly, 
while  in  Europe,  in  1831,  have  learned  something  of  what 
Dyar  had  attempted,  from  himself,  or  of  attempts  made  in 
Europe  by  leading  scientific  men,  and  other  parties,  or  from 
scientific  publications.  And  that  Dr.  Jackson  had  also  heard 
of  the  electric  telegraph  experiments  of  Ampere  and  others, 
and  that  both  returning  home  in  the  same  ship,  having  the 
subject  in  their  heads,  conversed  freely  about  it;  and  that  Dr. 
Jackson,  understanding  more  of  electric  science  than  Mr. 
Morse,  who  had  been  for  some  years  devoted  to  the  palette 
as  a  painter,  the  latter  freely  sought  information  of  the  former 


36  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

on  the  all  engrossing  subject.  As  far  as  the  original  discovery 
of  the  electric  telegraph  was  concerned  in  1832,  neither  party 
could  make  an  exclusive  claim  to  it. 

•  Mr.  Dyar  says  that  he  contemplated  in  1826,  extending 
telegraph  wires  on  poles,  through  the  air  from  New- York  to 
Philadelphia,*  but  thinks  he  was  ten  years  too  soon. 

"  I  invented  a  telegraph  which  should  be  independent  of  day,  or 
night,  or  weather :  which  should  extend  from  town  to  town  or  city  to 
city,  without  any  intermediary  agency,  by  means  of  an  insulated  wire 
in  the  air,  suspended  upon  poles,  and  through  which  wire  I  intended  to 
send  strokes  of  electricity  in  such  a  manner,  as  that  the  diverse  distances 
of  time,  separating  the  diverse  sparks,  should  represent  the  different  let- 
ters of  the  alphabet  and  stops  between  the  words  H  and  C.  The  absolute 
stops  on  the  relative  difference  of  time  between  the  several  sparks,  I  in- 
tended to  take  off  from  an  electric  machine  by  a  little  mechanical  con- 
trivance regulated  by  a  pendulum,  and  the  sparks  were  intended  to  be 
recorded  upon  a  moving  or  revolving  sheet  of  moistened  litmus  paper, 
which,  by  the  formation  of  nitric  acid,  by  the  spark  in  the  air,  in  its 
passage  through  the  paper,  would  leave  a  red  spot  for  each  spark  on 
this  blue  test  "paper." 

These  spots  he  proposed  to  be  so  spaced  as  to  represent  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet,  or  for  other  signs  to  be  transmitted, 
over  any  length  of  wire,  backwards  or  forwards.  He  also  pro- 
posed to  employ  an  auxiliary  aid  along  the  wire  to  gain  greater 
impulse — meaning  probably,  electro-magnetic  power. 

"  In  reference  to  what  I  did  to  carry  out  my  invention,  I  associated 
myself  with  Mr.  Brown,  of  Providence,  who  gave  me  certain  sums  of 
money  to  become  associated  with  me  in  the  invention.  We  employed 
a  Mr.  Connel,  of  New- York,  to  aid  in  getting  capital  wanted  to  carry 
the  wires  to  Philadelphia ;  this  we  considered  as  accomplished ;  but, 
before  beginning  on  the  long  wire,  it  was  decided  that  we  should  try 
some  miles  of  it  on  Long  Island.  Accordingly  I  obtained  some  fine 
card  wire,  intending  to  run  it  several  times  round  the  race  course  on 
Long  Island.  We  put  up  the  wire,  i.  e.,  Mr.  Brown  and  myself,  at  dif- 
ferent lengths,  in  curves  and  straight  lines,  by  suspending  it  from  stake 
to  stake,  and  tree  to  tree,  until  we  concluded  that  our  experiment  justi- 
fied our  undertaking  to  carry  it  from  New- York  to  Philadelphia.  At 
this  moment  our  agent,  Mr.  Connel,  brought  a  suit  or  summons  against 


THE  MAGNETIC  TELEGRAPH.  37 

me  for  $20,000,  for  agencies  and  services,  which  I  found  was  done  to 
extort  a  concession  of  a  share  of  the  whole  project.  I  appeared  before 
Judge  Irving,  who,  on  hearing  my  statements,  dismissed  the  suit  as 
groundless.  A  few  days  after  this,  Joseph  E.  White,  who  knew  about 
our  plan  of  a  new  telegraph  by  wire  hung  in  the  air,  and  who  was  our 
patent  agent  (intending  to  take  out  a  patent  when  we  could  no  longer 
keep  it  a  secret),  came  to  Mr.  Brown  and  myself,  and  stated  that  Mr. 
Connel  had  obtained  a  writ  against  us,  under  the  charge  of  conspiracy, 
for  carrying  on  secret  communication  from  city  to  city,  and  advising  us 
to  leave  New- York  until  he  could  settle  the  affair  for  us,  as  the  Sheriffs 
officers  were  then  after  us.  As  you  may  suppose,  this  happening  just 
after  the  notorious  bank  conspiracy  trials,  we  were  frightened  beyond 
measure,  and  the  same  night  stepped  off  for  Providence,  where  I  re- 
mained for  some  time,  and  did  not  return  to  New- York  for  many 
months,  and  then  with  much  fear  of  a  suit." 

This  seems  to  have  put  an  end  to  Mr.  D's  experiments. 
On  returning  to  New- York,  he  thinks  that  lie  "consulted 
Charles  Walker,  who  thought,  however  groundless  such  a 
charge  might  be,  that  it  might  give  me  infinite  trouble." 

In  the  late  trial  before  Judge  Kane,  at  Philadelphia,  in  the 
case  of  Benjamin  B.  French,  et  als.,  representative  of  Morse's 
patent,  vs.  Henry  J.  Eogers,  et  als.,  representative  of  Bain's 
patent,  Mr.  Dyar  having  returned  to  the  United  States,  testified 
in  person  to  the  improvements  he  had  made,  pretty  much  in 
substance  as  stated  in  the  extracts  given  from  his  Paris  letter. 
He  however  declined  to  tell  all  he  professed  to  know  about  it, 
or  which  he  claimed  to  have  discovered,  on  the  ground  that 
there  were  principles  involved  in  it  for  which  he  was  seeking 
patents  in  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain. — (See  pp.  13 
-22  French  vs.  Rogers,  September,  1851.) 

We  shall  next  proceed  to  investigate  the  testimony  given 
before  Judge  Kane,  of  Philadelphia,  in  September,  1851.  We 
shall  show  from  the  evidence,  that  there  was  not  the  slightest 
interference  on  the  part  of  the  Bain's  Telegraph,  with  that  of 
Morse.  We  shall  show,  that  the  great  fault  with  Morse  and 
his  friends  has  been,  to  claim  the  exclusive  use  of  principles 
which  he  never  discovered  or  invented ;  and  that  all  he  could 
ever  justly  claim  was  his  mechanical  contrivances,  to  be  oper- 


38  HISTORICAL   SKETCH  OF 

ated  upon  by  electricity,  or  electro-magnetism;  such  as  his 
port-rule,  and  his  pen-lever,  in  combination  with  electro-magnets 
and  clock- wheels — his  pen-lever  to  make  dots  and  lines  on 
slips  of  paper  passing  over  a  grooved  roller,  moved  by  the 
clock- wheels.  There  is  nothing  else  used  by  him,  that  was 
not  proved  on  the  trial  to  have  been  discovered  and  used  by 
others  before  he  had  ever  taken  out  any  patent  at  all.  It  is 
by  the  excessive  and  untenable  extent  of  his  claims,  that  his 
cause  has  been  so  much  weakened. 

There  is  no  living  man  of  an  unprejudiced  mind,  who  will 
take  the  labor  of  wading  through  the  voluminous  evidence 
referred  to,  who  will  not  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  the  de- 
cision of  Judge  Kane  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  ever 
delivered  in  a  court  of  justice.  It  was  given  in  direct  opposi- 
tion to  the  direct  testimony  of  more  than  half  a  dozen  highly 
respectable  scientific  witnesses,  bearing  upon  the  direct  points 
at  issue  ;  otherwise,  how  could  he  have  decided  that  Steinheil's 
Telegraph  was  not  a  recording  but  a  visual  telegraph,  when  it 
actually  recorded  by  dots  on  slips  of  paper,  which  was  in  evi- 
dence. His  decision  proves  either  one  of  two  things :  that 
his  mind  was  probably  made  up  without  a  careful  examination 
of  the  testimony,  or  that  he  grossly  erred  in  interpreting  it. 
According  to  such  a  decision,  no  improvement,  however  great, 
important,  or  beneficial,  can  be  attempted.  A  similar  decision 
would  have  kept  the  steam-engine  and  printing-press  where 
the  first  patent  improvers  left  them.  On  this  principle,  if  one 
man  could  patent  steam,  another  air,  another  water,  and  an- 
other electro-magnetic  motion — four  powers,  or  elements — four 
patentees  could  become  the  exclusive  owners  of  all  the  steam- 
engines,  wind-sails,  windmills,  water-wheels,  and  telegraphs, 
in  Christendom. 

A  patentee  has  no  right  to  use  his  discovery  for  the  op- 
pression of  the  people.  A  patent  is  given,  not  because  he  has 
discovered  a  mode  of  inflicting  injury,  but  on  the  ground  that 
he  has  conferred  a  benefit,  and  not  a  curse,  as  a  telegraph  mo- 
nopoly granted  on  the  broad  decision  of  Judge  Kane  would 
prove  to  be.     "If  a  man  is  honest,  it  is  his  duty  in  writing  a 


THE  MAGNETIC  TELEGRAPH.  39 

history  of  the  telegraph,  to  tell  the  truth,  and  to  speak  from 
facts  adduced  under  oath." 

We  are  personally  friendly  to  Professor  Morse,  and  esteem 
him  as  an  amiable  man,  deserving  of  credit  and  a  fortune, 
for  his  application  and  perseverance  in  the  introduction  of  the 
telegraph.  But  were  he  our  brother,  in  writing  a  history  we 
should  still  feel  bound  to  tell  the  honest  convictions  at  which 
we  have  arrived — to  utter  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but 
the  truth.  We  have  no  private  ends  to  subserve.  We  own 
no  interest  in  any  telegraph  patent.  We  own  not  a  dollar  of 
stock  in  any  telegraph  line.  Those  for  whose  interest  we 
write  are  the  people  ;  they  have  a  vast  deal  at  stake  ;  and  as 
one  of  the  people,  we  have  a  right  to  examine  the  subject,  and 
to  urge  our  rights  in  the  premises. 

When  a  steamboat  company,  by  a  legislative  act,  claimed 
a  monopoly  for  exclusively  navigating  all  the  rivers  in  the 
United  States,  it  was  thought  to  be  oppressive.  Professor 
Morse  and  his  friends  claim  an  exclusive  right  to  navigate  the 
air  by  electricity,  over  the  whole  continent.  As  broad  as  the 
claim  is,  we  should  be  perfectly  willing  to  accord  it  to  them, 
did  we  not  know,  from  incontestable  evidence,  that  they  were 
not  entitled  to  it. 

It  may  be  stated,  and  can  be  indisputably  proved,  that, 
had  neither  Jackson,  Morse,  House,  nor  Bain  ever  existed, 
we  should  still  have  had,  at  this  time,  electric  telegraphs  in 
operation.  The  discoveries  of  Oersted  and  of  Ampere,  in 
1820,  of  Henry,  in  1827  and  1831,  of  Gauss  and  Webber,  in 
1833,  with  the  erection  of  a  working  recording  telegraph  by 
Stienheil,  in  1837,  and  of  a  magnetic  telegraph,  patented  by 
Wheatstone  and  Cook,  in  1837  (all  in  advance  of  Morse's  pa- 
tent), placed  the  permanent  introduction  of  electrical  telegraphs 
beyond  all  doubt  or  dispute.  Morse,  and  others  who  have  fol- 
lowed them,  have  only  added  mechanical  contrivances  to  what 
had  already  been  invented  or  discovered,  and  for  which  alone 
they  are  entitled  to  patents. 

We  shall  proceed,  in  our  next  chapter,  to  show  from  the 
evidence  given  in  the  trial  of  French  vs.  Eogers,  all  that  had 
been  known  about  electric  telegraphs  before  Morse's  time,  in 


40  HISTORICAL   SKETCH. 

addition  to  what  we  have  already  adduced,  and  also  show  that 
there  is  no  interference  or  infringement  on  Morse's  patent  by 
that  of  Bain's  ;  and  to  prove  what  Morse  is  really  entitled  to, 
and  what  he  has  no  claim  to  ;  with  a  synopsis  of  the  evidence 
set  aside  or  overlooked  by  Judge  Kane  in  making  his  decision. 


CHAPTEE  V. 

THE  LEADING  POINTS  OF  CONTEST  BETWEEN  THE  CLAIMS  OF 
MORSE  AND  BAIN. 

In  the  previous  chapter  we  gave  the  substance  of  some  of  the 
evidence  elicited  in  the  trial  of  the  case  between  Smith  and 
Downing,  or  Morse  vs.  House.  There  was  much  new  matter 
introduced  at  the  trial  between  French  and  Rogers,  or  Morse  vs. 
Bain  in  Philadelphia,  in  1851.  Mixed  with  the  whole  there 
was  also  a  great  mass  of  irrelevant  verbiage  embraced  in  the 
interrogatories  and  answers  taken  out  of  court,  which  without 
elucidating  the  case  greatly  increased  the  amount  of  printed 
testimony  on  both  sides.  To  wade  through  a  thousand  pages 
of  printed  evidence  is  no  light  task.  Although  the  printed  tes- 
timony in  the  case  of  Smith  vs.  Downing  only  reached  from 
400  to  500  pages,  yet  Judge  Woodbury  took  two  or  three 
months  to  weigh  and  examine  it  before  giving  his  decision. 
Judge  Kane  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  contrary,  in  the  case  of 
French  vs.  Rogers,  where  the  evidence  on  both  sides  made  about 
1000  printed  pages,  took  the  brief  period  of  about  four  weeks 
to  form  an  opinion  and  give  his  decision. 

In  this  case  the  counsel  for  the  plaintiffs  maintained  that 
Bain's  patent  infringed  the  claims  of  Morse  in  the  following 
points : 

1.  They  contended  that  it  infringed  Morse's  claim  to  the 
use  of  dots  and  lines  to  represent  the  letters  or  signs  of  letters, 
at  a  distance  by  which  communications  were  recorded. 

2.  That  Bain's  by  using  what  he  termed  a  branch  current, 
infringed  Morse's  claim  to  what  he  claimed  as  a  local  circuit. 
Also,  that  Bain's  by  using  connecting  magnets,  by  which  cir- 
cuits might  be  opened  and  closed  and  messages  sent  to  a 
greater  distance,  infringed  Morse's  claim.     They  also  consider- 


42  HISTOKICAL  SKETCH  OF 

ed  the  use  of  the  call  or  signal,  and  receiving  magnets  as  in- 
terferences. 

3.  That  Bain's  employment  of  chemically  prepared  paper 
to  be  marked  by  the  passage  of  an  electrical  current  in  the  de- 
composition of  metallic  wire  in  contact  with  the  prepared  paper, 
whereby  black  marks  or  dots  were  produced,  was  an  infringe- 
ment. 

Before  going  further,  it  may  be  as  well  to  state  the  chrono- 
logical order  of  Professor  Morse's  patents  and  claims. 

1.  In  October,  1837,  he  entered  his  caveat  in  the  United 
States,  soon  after  which  he  went  to  Europe. 

2.  In  1838  he  obtained  a  patent  in  France,  but  was  refused 
one  in  England. 

3.  Having  returned  from  abroad,  he,  in  June,  1840,  obtained 
his  first  patent  in  the  United  States. 

4.  In  January,  1846,  he  obtained  a  reissue  of  his  patent  of 
1840,  in  which  he  dropped  his  claim  to  the  exclusive  use  of 
the  Electric  or  Galvanic  current,  but  claimed  the  use  of  Electro- 
Magnetism  or  Electro-Magnetic  motion  with  other  new  matter. 

5.  In  April,  1846,  he  obtained  a  new  patent,  in  which  he 
claimed  the  exclusive  use  of  the  local  circuit,  which  he  em- 
ployed for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  mechanical  force  ne- 
cessary to  work  his  machine. 

6.  In  1848  he  obtained  a  reissue  of  his  patent  of  April, 
1846.  In  some  of  his  patents  he  also  claimed  the  use  of  the 
ground  circuit. 

7.  In  1849  he  obtained,  under  Commissioner  Burke,  a  pa- 
tent for  a  chemical  telegraph,  in  which  he  claimed  the  use  of 
paper  chemically  prepared  with  salts,  to  be  acted  upon  by  the 
passage  of  a  current  of  electricity  in  causing  their  decompo- 
sition. 

As  Edward  Davy,  however,  had  taken  out  a  patent  in 
England,  in  1839,  for  the  use  of  chemically  prepared  paper, 
&c,  for  the  same  purpose  (see  Respondent's  Evidence,  p.  44), 
and  as  Bain's  patent  bore  date  in  England,  December,  1846, 
(see  Evidence,  p.  157),  Judge  Cranch,  at  Washington,  before 
whom  the  case  was  carried  on  an  appeal  from  the  Commis- 
sioner of  patents,  decided  that  Bain's  was  entitled  to  a  patent ; 


THE   MAGNETIC   TELEGKAPH.  43 

and  it  was  issued  to  him  accordingly.  This  point,  therefore, 
did  not  appear  to  be  insisted  upon  by  Morse's  friends  in  the 
late  trial  as  an  interference  of  very  great  importance. 

From  the  chronological  statement  given,  it  will  be  per- 
ceived that  in  the  same  year  that  Morse  entered  his  caveat  at 
Washington,  that  Stienheil  in  Germany  had  actually  put  in 
operation  a  recording  telegraph  of  several  miles  in  length  in 
July,  1837,  between  Munich  and  Bojenhausen,  and  prior  to 
the  entrance  of  Morse's  caveat  in  October  following. — (See  De- 
fendant's Testimony,  p.  371.) 

As  stated,  Professor  Morse  visited  Europe  between  the 
entrance  of  his  caveat  in  October,  1837,  and  the  entrance  of 
his  specification  and  obtainment  of  his  patent  in  the  United 
States,  in  1840.  We  do  not  charge  that,  while  he  was  abroad, 
that  he  availed  himself  of  all  that  was  then  doing  or  known 
regarding  electric  telegraphs  in  Europe,  which  at  that  period 
were  attracting  great  attention.  There  was  not,  however,  any 
thing  to  prevent  his  knowledge  of  all  that  Ampere  and  Stien- 
heil, with  Cook  and  Wheatstone,  had  done,  and  were  then 
doing.  The  latter  parties  took  out  their  patent  for  a  telegraph, 
in  which  they  claimed  the  power  of  giving  signals  and  sound- 
ing alarms  at  a  distance,  which  was  afterwards  claimed  in 
Morse's  patent  in  1840.  Their  patent  was  dated  December  12, 
1837. — (See  Defendant's  Evidence,  p.  33.) 

On  his  return,  therefore,  to  the  United  States,  it  was  possible 
for  him,  if  he  chose  to  do  so,  to  embrace  in  his  specification  in 
1840,  under  new  names,  all  the  discoveries  made  by  others,  or 
himself,  up  to  that  period. 

The  propriety  of  allowing  a  patentee  to  obtain  frequent  re- 
issues for  patents,  in  which  claims  are  to  be  expanded,  has 
been  seriously  questioned.  From  the  time  Professor  Morse  en- 
tered his  caveat  in  1837,  to  the  date  of  his  last  patent  in  1849, 
it  will  be  seen  embraces  a  period  of  about  twelve  years.  In 
this  period  he  obtained  four  patents,  and  two  re-issues  of 
patents.  Before  all  the  patents  and  claims  of  Morse  ex- 
pire concerning  telegraphs,  about  fourteen  years  will  have  to 
pass  over  from  the  date  of  his  last  patent  in  1849 — making 
a  total  of  about  twenty-six  years,  from  the  entrance  of  his 


44  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

caveat  in  1837,  to  the  expiration  of  his  last  patent  of  1849, 
in  1863 ! 

If  a  patentee  can  continue  to  obtain  re-issues,  and  be  per- 
mitted to  expand  his  claims  under  each,  it  is  clear  that  his 
operations  might  be  made  to  cover  half  a  century  as  well  as 
a  shorter  period ;  and  each  intermediate  discoverer  could  do 
nothing  more  than  add  to  the  interest  of  the  one  party ! 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  claims  put  forth  by  Morse  and  his 
friends  in  these  various  patents  and  re-issues,  that  there  was, 
apparently,  an  effort  made  to  secure  and  to  cover  the  whole 
ground  of  electric  telegraphs  in  the  United  States  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  all  competition,  and  for  the  sole  benefit  of  himself 
and  colleagues. 

In  England  the  electric  telegraph  has  become  a  monstrous 
monopoly,  being  chiefly  owned  and  worked  by  railway  stock- 
jobbers. The  people  at  large  are,  in  a  measure,  shut  out  from 
its  benefits.  Their  monopoly  was  created  by  purchasing  up 
patents  from  successive  inventors,  such  as  Davy,  Bain,  &c, 
and  fighting  weaker  claimants  in  lawsuits. 

In  the  United  States  it  looks  as  though  a  similar  monopoly 
had  been  attempted ;  not  by  the  purchase  of  others'  rights,  but 
by  the  multiplication  of  patents  and  re-issues  made,  to  claim 
every  thing  pretty  much  in  the  lightning  way,  and  on  these  ex- 
panded claims  to  fight  off  all  competition  in  constant  lawsuits. 
In  this,  however,  success  has  been  only  partially  realized. 

During  the  period  of  twelve  years,  from  1837  to  1849,  the 
minds  of  many  ingenious  men  in  Europe  and  America  were 
strongly  attracted  to  the  same  subject,  and  the  study  of  new 
improvements.  These  from  time  to  time  were  made  public ; 
and  it  would  be  possible  for  a  party  under  re-issues,  or  new 
patents,  to  compile  important  facts  from  them,  and  to  claim 
them  under  new  names. 

To  this  day,  Wheatstone  and  Cook's  telegraph  is  substan- 
tially the  only  one  employed  in  England.  Morse,  as  stated, 
failed  to  obtain  a  patent  in  England ;  to  which,  however,  we 
think  he  was  entitled  so  far  as  the  just  merits  of  his  mechani- 
cal combinations  were  concerned. 

During  legal  proceedings  had  in  various  parts  of  the  United 


THE  MAGNETIC  TELEGRAPH.  45 

States,  the  question  has  been  mooted,  whether  Morse's  first  pa- 
tent obtained  in  the  United  States,  should  not  have  borne  date 
with  his  French  patent  of  1838.  And  in  an  action  had  before 
Judge  McLean  of  Ohio,  against  Henry  O'Keilly,  this  point 
was  brought  in  question ;  and  the  Judge,  it  was  said,  was  dis- 
posed to  decide  it  in  the  affirmative,  viz.,  that  by  dating  up 
his  patent  two  years  from  the  date  of  his  French  patent  to  1840, 
taken  in  the  United  States,  weakened  the  validity  of  the  Ameri- 
can patent.  Judge  Woodbury,  in  his  decision,  alluded  to  it ; 
but  as  it  did  not  call  for  an  opinion  in  the  case  before  him,  he 
passed  it  over. 

The  error  with  many  witnesses  for  plaintiffs,  whose  testi- 
mony was  taken  in  the  case  of  French  vs.  Rogers,  arose  from 
the  belief,  that  as  electro-magnetic  motion  or  force  was  em- 
ployed to  actuate  machinery — a  combination  of  which  was 
contrived  by  Morse  for  telegraph  purposes — no  matter  how 
generated  or  used,  whether  by  one  or  more  batteries,  con- 
veyed by  one  or  more  wires — or  moved  by.one  or  more  mag- 
nets of  greater  or  less  strength,  or  size ;  that,  therefore,  no  other 
person,  discoverer,  inventor,  or  improver  could  employ  electro- 
magnetic motion,  however  developed  and  arranged  or  employ- 
ed in  connection  with  different  combinations,  or  with  other 
mechanical  means  or  modes  for  producing  telegraph  operations. 
•  A  large  number  and  variety  of  chemical  and  mechanical 
contrivances  have  been  introduced  in  Germany,  and  other 
parts  of  Europe,  for  electrical  telegraph  purposes — each  dif- 
fering in  some  respects  from  the  others.  Professor  William 
F.  Channing  in  his  evidence  for  defence,  page  373,  says  : 

"  The  number  of  telegraphs  belonging  to  the  different  periods  had 
been  so  greatly  multiplied  at  this  time,  or  soon  afterwards,  that  Quete- 
let  states — on  the  authority  of  Wheatstone,  in  the  Bulletin  de  VAcademie 
Royal  des  Sciences  de  Bruxelles,  published  at  Brussels  in  1838,  p.  46 — 
that  there  were  already  at  that  time  sixty-two  claimants  to  the  dis- 
covery of  the  electric  telegraph."  • 

In  this  country,  as  previously  stated  in  our  chronological 
table,  besides  the  instruments  of  Messrs.  Morse,  House,  and 
Bain,   a  Mr.  Horn  invented  an  igniting  telegraph.     That  is, 


46  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

his  machine  was  so  arranged  that  instead  of  dotting,  or  mark- 
ing paper,  the  spark  of  electricity  actually  burnt  dots  and  lines 
through  slips  of  paper  while  revolving  through  it,  so  as  to 
stand  as  signs  for  letters. 

We  also  saw  the  machine  invented  by  a  Mr.  Johnson  of 
the  western  part  of  New- York,  for  stamping  dots  on  paper 
with  leaden  shot  pressed  against  a  slip  of  paper  as  it  was 
drawn  through  it.  Daniel  Davis,  of  Boston,  in  his  description 
of  instruments,  describes  another  telegraph  which  he  terms  an 
axial  telegraph,  actuated  by  magnetic  motive  power,  something 
on  the  principle  of  Professor  Page's  plan  of  generating  and 
applying  it  as  a  motive  power. 

Soon  after  Henry  O'Keilly  had  built  up  his  extensive  lines 
of  telegraph  at  the  West,  connecting  the  western  with  the 
eastern  cities,  a  party  at  Cincinnati,  known  as  Messrs.  Zoohs 
and  Barnes,  invented  an  important  modification  of  Morse's  ma- 
chine, and  brought  it  into  use  in  February,  1846,  at  Louisville, 
Kentucky.  They,  we  believe,  were  the  first  to  introduce  dupli- 
cate fixed  magnets,  between  the  poles  of  which,  on  either  side, 
there  played  an  electro-magnetic  needle  placed  in  a  copper 
coil.  When  the  current  passed  through  this  needle  it  was  de- 
flected, or  repelled,  or  attracted,  as  the  operator  desired,  by  the 
poles  of  the  fixed  magnets,  and  thus  indicated  signals,  &c. 
Zooks  and  Barnes  claimed  that  their  fixed  magnets  absorbed 
the  excess  of  atmospheric  electricity,  and  enabled  them  to 
work  during  thunder-storms.  In  April  following,  Morse  ob- 
tained a  patent  in  which  he  claimed  the  exclusive  "  use  of  Elec- 
tro-Magnetic Motion  and  Magnetism "  of  all  kinds,  however 
developed.  (See  his  Specifications,  p.  57,  Evidence  for  Defence.) 
Morse  soon  after  sued  O'Keilly  for  an  infringement,  in  using 
Zooks  and  Barnes's  instrument.  The  case  was  argued  before 
Judge  Monroe,  a  strong  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Amos  Kendall, 
in  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  sitting  at  Frankfort,  Kentucky,  who 
decided  against  O'Keilly.  An  appeal  was  taken  to  the  United 
States  Court,  where,  we  understand,  the  case  is  soon  to  be  ar- 
gued and  finally  decided. 

To  have  a  clearer  understanding  of  the  subject,  let  us  con- 
sider what  things  (some  of  which  have  been  claimed  by  Pro- 


THE   MAGNETIC   TELEGRAPH.  47 

fessor  Morse)  were  discovered  and  in  use  before  his  first 
thoughts  were  directed  to  telegraphs,  or  prior  to  the  year  1832. 
Among  them  were  the  following,  briefly  noticed  in  our  chrono- 
logical statement : 

1.  The  Galvanic  Battery,  the  germ  of  which  was  discovered 
by  Galvani,  a  professor  of  Anatomy  at  Bologna,  Italy,  in  1790. 
Galvani's  attention  was  called  to  the  subject  in  a  very  curious 
manner.  He  was  preparing  some  frogs  with  which  to  make 
soup  for  his  wife  who  was  ill ;  and  in  doing  so,  discovered  that 
every  time  he  touched  the  leg  of  a  frog  with  a  knife,  or  scalpel, 
that  it  contracted  or  moved.  This  effect  he  made  known,  and  it 
was  soon  after  justly  attributed  to  electricity.  Zinc  was  soon  after 
adopted  (as  in  the  pile  of  Yolta)  for  the  scalpel,  and  interven- 
ing slips  of  woollen  cloth  moistened  in  acids  for  the  flesh  or 
muscles  of  frogs,  and  electricity  produced.  From  the  disco- 
very of  Yolta,  have  sprung  all  the  improved  galvanic  batte- 
ries at  present  in  use  for  telegraphic  and  other  purposes. 
Hence  the  science  of  generating  electricity  by  the  decomposi- 
tion of  metals  in  acids,  has  ever  since  borne  his  name,  or  has 
been  called  Galvanism.  Hence  the  terms  "  Galvanic  Battery" 
"  Galvanic  Current"  Galvanic  Electricity"  &c.  Yolta  was  a  pro- 
fessor of  Natural  Philosophy  at  Pavia,  in  Italy.  In  1800  he  in- 
vented his  pile,  which  was  the  first  galvanic  battery  ever  made, 
in  which  metals  and  acids  formed  a  part  of  the  arrangements. 

2.  Electro-magnetic  motion  was  discovered  by  Professor 
Oersted  of  Copenhagen,  in  1819,  by  passing  a  current  of  elec- 
tricity at  right-angles  across  the  needle  of  a  common  compass, 
which  deflected  it. 

3.  The  action  of  an  electric  current  in  deflecting  an  electro- 
magnetic needle,  was  discovered  by  Ampere  in  France,  in  1821, 
and  the  same  subject  was  experimented  on  by  Arago,  and  Sir 
Humphrey  Davy,  about  the  same  time.  The  latter's  discoveries 
were  coincident  with  those  of  Ampere.  Mr.  Faraday  made 
further  researches,  and  discovered  the  rationale  and  plan  of 
forming  magnets  at  will,  by  the  action  of  an  electric  cur- 
rent. Indeed,  it  was  about  this  time,  it  may  be  said,  that  the 
power  of  electro-magnetic  motion  was  fully  demonstrated 
and  explained.  And  Ampere  showed  how  it  could  be  applied 
to  telegraph  purposes. 


48  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

4.  The  magnets  of  quantity  and  intensity  were  discovered 
by  Professor  Joseph  Henry  of  the  United  States,  between  the 
years  1827  and  1831.  And  their  mode  of  construction,  with 
their  availability  in  connection  with  the  use  of  batteries  of  in- 
tensity and  quantity  to  produce  signals  or  telegraph  signs,  or  me- 
chanical effects  at  a  distance,  were  taught  to  his  pupils.  He  also 
discovered  the  use  of  relay  magnets,  to  open  and  close  long  cir- 
cuits. He  told  his  class,  that  by  the  aid  of  his  magnets  he 
could  cause  a  weight  to  strike  a  bell  at  a  distance,  and  thus 
make  it  answer  the  purpose  of  a  telegraph. 

With  all  this  knowledge  on  the  subject  which  had  been 
developed  and  published  to  the  world  before  Morse's  time,  or 
prior  to  1882,  what  was  there  left  for  Morse  to  invent  to  make 
a  telegraph  ? 

Professor  Henry,  in  his  examination  in  the  case  of  Smith 
vs.  Downing  (see  Evidence,  p.  93),  in  answer  to  this  very  ques- 
tion, answers  as  follows : 

"Merely  to  combine  his  port  rules,  or  pin  lever,  with  a  spring  to  be 
moved  by  the  armature  of  a  magnet,  and  to  operate  on  slips  of  paper 
passing  between  rollers." 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  does  this  exclude  all  other  parties 
from  taking  these  same  electrical  and  magnetic  principles  and 
contrivances,  discovered  in  the  order  we  have  named  them, 
and  prior  to  1832,  the  year  Morse's  mind  was  first  directed  to 
the  subject,  and  applying  them  to  produce  a  telegraph  by  dif- 
ferent mechanical  combinations  or  chemical  arrangements  ? 
We  think  no  candid  man  can  fail  to  answer  in  the  negative. 

A  still  more  extraordinary  feature  of  Judge  Kane's  argu- 
ment was,  that  Morse  was  entitled  to  protection  because  he 
had  discovered  "  an  Art"  ! — a  thing  that  Morse  himself  had 
never  claimed.  In  all  his  specifications,  and  through  all  his 
patents  and  reissues,  he  only  claims  to  have  invented  a  "  New 
and  useful  Improvement." 

To  have  invented  telegraphing  as  an  art,  he  should  have 
discovered  all  we  have  named,  or  be  the  author  of  all  Galvani, 
Volta,    Oersted,  Arago,  Ampere,    the  Davys,  Faraday,  Henry, 


THE  ELECTKIC  TELEGRAPH.  49 

and  Stienheil,  with  a  host  of  others,  had  done  before  him,  em- 
bracing nearly  half  a  century.  He  should  have  invented  the 
galvanic  battery,  discovered  electro-magnetic  motion,  discov- 
ered the  plan  of  producing  electro-magnets,  and  of  varying 
their  power,  and  adapted  them  to  making  signals  at  a  distance. 
Indeed,  he  should  have  discovered  nearly  all  known  in  electri- 
city, and  been  the  first  to  suggest  its  application  to  telegraph- 
ing. These  things  neither  he  himself,  nor  his  most  sanguine 
friends,  ever  wholly  claimed  for  him.  Then,  he  has  invented 
no  art.  Indeed,  Professor  Henry  says  (see  Evidence,  p.  90, 
Smith  vs.  Downing) : 

"  I  am  not  aware  that  Mr.  Morse  has  ever  made  a  single  original 
discovery  in  electricity,  magnetism,  or  electro-magnetism,  applicable  to 
the  invention  of  the  telegraph.  I  have  always  considered  his  merit  to 
consist  in  combining  and  applying  the  discoveries  of  others,  in  the  in- 
vention of  a  particular  instrument  and  process  for  telegraph  purposes." 

To  settle  this  point,  suppose  Prof.  Morse  had  never  existed, 
would  we  now  have  in  operation  an  electric  telegraph  ?  Cer- 
tainly we  should.  Wheatstone's  telegraph  could  to-day  be  in- 
troduced into  the  United  States,  without  in  the  slightest  degree 
interfering  with  Morse's  patents. 

In  the  trial  of  French  vs.  Rogers,  a  vast  amount  of  time  was 
consumed,  and  much  evidence  taken,  to  prove  Morse's  claims 
to  what  he  actually  invented,  in  the  way  of  his  mechanical 
combinations,  &c,  and  what  nobody  disputed ;  and,  also,  to 
prove  what  was  equally  useless,  that  the  principles  of  electro- 
magnetism  and  electricity,  previously  discovered,  were  neces- 
sary to  actuate  his  mechanism. 

"We  shall  next  examine  the  grounds  of  the  defence,  set  up 
in  the  recent  trial  of  French  vs.  Eogers  (or  Morse  vs.  Bain) 
and  mainly  in  reference  to  the  points  claimed  as  infringements 
of  the  former's  rights. 

1.  As  to  the  dots  and  lines.  The  defence  showed  that  Mr. 
James  Swaim,  of  Philadelphia,  in  1829  invented  the  use  of  dots 
and  lines,  which  he  termed  a  Mural  Telegraph  ;  the  design  of 
which  was  that  parties  separated  might  communicate  with  each 
other,  by  making  lines  and  dots  on  the  wall,  by  any  sounding 
4 


50  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

or  pointed  instrument,  intended,  by  the  number  of  dots  or 
blows,  and  straight  lines  or  scratches,  to  represent  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet  and  numerals.  He  published  his  plan  with  an 
alphabet  in  1829,  and  it  does  not  differ  materially  from  that 
of  Morse's,  except  that  Swaim  made  his  straight  lines  perpen- 
dicularly, instead  of  horizontally  as  made  by  Morse.  (See 
Defendant's  Evidence,  pp.  113,  114.) 

Professor  Stienheil,  of  Munich,  is  said  to  have  been  the 
first  who  actually  put  in  operation  a  recording  electro-magnetic 
telegraph.  This  was  in  evidence  for  the  defence,  and  testified 
to  by  a  number  of  witnesses. 

Professor  Augustus  A.  Hayes,  a  practical  chemist  of  Bos- 
ton, states,  pp.  332  and  333,  as  follows : 

"  Stienheil  used  a  single  circuit  of  insulated  wire  on  posts  terminat- 
ing in  a  helix,  which  was  polarized  by  a  magneto-electrical  machine, 
and  caused  deflection  in  two  magnetic  bars,  each  of  which  bore  a  cup 
of  ink  opening  through  a  capillary  tube  against  a  moving  fillet  of  pa- 
per ;  thus  recording  his  telegraph  signs." 

Again  he  says : 

"  As  dots,  spaces  and  lines,  are  more  easily  made  by  a  simple  appli- 
cation of  the  two  motive  forces  of  the  clock-work  and  electric  current, 
magnetizing  and  demagnetizing  the  soft  iron  (shaped  like  the  letter  U), 
so  their  use  was  most  obviously  suggested.  But  dots  and  spaces  for 
cipher-writing  have  been  in  use,  with  arbitrary  significations,  for  many 
years.  In  Bees' 's  Cyclopaedia,  vol.  viii.,  article  Cypher,  is  given  an  ac- 
count of  several ;  and,  among  others,  one  invented  by  William  Blair,  in 
the  year  1807,  in  which  dots  and  spaces  are  so  contrived  as  to  represent 
an  alphabet  of  81  signs,  each  sign  being  interpreted  by  letters  of  the 
Roman  alphabet.  Stienheil,  too,  used  dots  and  spaces  to  signify  letters 
as  described  in  his  patent  above  referred  to ;  and  it  may  be  suggested, 
that  the  specimen  of  telegraphing  writing  exhibited  by  Morse  (as  by 
Vail's  Book)  in  1837,  might  have  been  actually  done  by  Stienheil's 
machinery." 

Again : 

"  I  regard  the  invention  of  recording  machinery  as  only  an  inven- 
tion of  the  particular  means,  not  the  discovery  of  a  new  art." 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  51 

He  further  says : 

"  But,  again,  I  do  not  consider  that  Morse  was  the  first  to  use  the 
influence  of  electricity,  either  as  a  motive  power,  or  as  a  chemical  agency 
to  imprint  signs  of  intelligence." 

He  then  states  what  had  been  done  on  this  subject  by 
Dyar,  Davy  and  others,  before  Morse. 

At  p.  18  of  defendant's  evidence  Harrison  Gray  Dyar  says, 
in  allusion  to  his  telegraph : 

"  These  signs  were  indicated  or  recorded  on  paper,  by  the  action  of 
the  electric  spark  at  the  further  end  of  the  wire,  passing  through  the 
paper  before  the  sparks  were  conducted  off  the  wire  into  the  ground." 

Professor  W.  B.  Benedict,  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the 
U.  S.  navy,  and  formerly  a  Teacher  of  Chemistry  and  Natural 
Philosophy,  at  p.  246,  defendant's  evidence,  testifies  to  Stien- 
heil's  recording  telegraph,  and  says  that  it  could  not  only  make 
dots,  but  that  his  process  was  suitable  for  recording  the  con- 
tinuance of  dots  into  lines. 

Also  see  evidence  of  Professor  William  E.  Channing,  a 
cultivator  of  practical  science,  at  p.  373,  as  to  Gauss  and 
Weber's  discoveries ;  and  that  the  former  was  the  first  who 
showed  the  practicability  of  using  signs  ;  and  that  in  1833  they 
actually  "constructed  the  first  simplified  galvano-magnetic 
telegraph."  See  also  his  evidence  at  pp.  373  and  375  for  de- 
fence. At  the  latter  page  he  shows  that  similar  signs,  or  dots 
and  lines,  were  used  in  an  anemometer,  or  register  of  winds, 
which  was  invented  by  one  D'Ons  en  Bray,  and  published  by 
the  Eoyal  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Paris,  in  1734.  This  in- 
strument used  clock-work  to  carry  fillets  of  paper  over  a  cylin- 
der with  metallic  points.  A  second  cylinder,  revolving  near 
the  first,  dotted  the  paper  whenever  it  revolved  against  the 
metallic  points  with  the  paper  between  ; — the  number  being 
32,  to  correspond  with  the  points  of  the  compass.  See  his 
testimony  on  p.  276,  where  he  describes  other  similar  regis- 
tering or  dotting  machines,  one  of  which  was  a  wind,  and  an- 
other a  tide  register.     See  also  pp.  378  and  379,  same  evi- 


52  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

dence.  See  Evidence  of  Professor  0.  W.  Gibbs,  Professor  of 
Chemistry  in  the  ISTew-York  Free  Academy,  who  at  p.  437 
sustains  the  evidence  of  Professor  Channing  as  to  the  discovery 
of  the  electro-magnetic  telegraph  in  1833,  by  Gauss  and 
Weber,  at  Gottingen  ;  and  that  they  were  the  first  to  conduct 
the  wires  through  the  air  over  house-tops,  &c. ;  and  that  the 
proposal  to  use  the  ground  for  a  circuit  was  first  made  and 
executed  by  Stienheil ;  and  that  he  was  the  first  to  put  in 
actual  operation  a  recording  telegraph,  by  making  dots,  &c, 
on  fillets  of  paper.  The  first  employment  of  a  recording  tele- 
graph was  also  claimed  by  Amyot,  in  the  Compte  Eendus  of 
the  French  Academy  for  1838,  July  9th,  vol.  vii.,  p.  82.  (See 
B.  A.  OouloVs  Evidence  for  Defence,  p.  68. 

We  here  annex  the  signals  arranged  by  Swaim,  Stienheil, 
Morse,  Davy,  and  Bain. 

No.  \.— Example  from  Swavris     No.  2.— Example  from      No'  nT^fT^Wj0m 

ml829.  Morse's  in,  mo.  J%$2J££?£* 

and  Jlain/8  vn,  1846. 

a  -  e  A  .  — 

b  o  B .— . 

c  a  C  .  .  . 

d  h  D..— 

|  e  —  I  E  . 

J    I  /  x  F .. 

i  i,y  G  .—.. 

o  w  H. 

end  of  number.  m  I  .  . 

—  end  of  question.  n  J  .  .  .  — 

-  I  understand.  s,z  K  . . 

|  -  |      again.  k  L  .  .  .  . 

|    |-    end  of  spelled  word.         t  M.— .— 

H  .. 

O  — 
P  — .— 
Q-.-. 

R . 

S  — .. 
T  — ... 
U— . 

V . 

w .. 

X— ..— 

Y 

Z 


THE  ELECTEIC  TELEGEAPH. 


53 


Dyar  claims  having  used  dots  in  1826. 

"  I  add  some  letters  from  Stienheil's  arranged  signs,  to  better  show 
the  close  agreement,  in  the  primitive  idea  arising  to  the  mind  of  each 
person  using  such  means. 


No 

4.— 

Example  J 

rom 

StienheiVs 

in  1837. 

A 

B 

OH 

D 

E 

F 

G 

H 

M 

N 

/ 

0 

R 

S 

T 

"  Swaim  addressed  the  senses  of  the  recipient  by  scratches  on  a  hard 
substance  for  the  lines,  and  knocks  for  the  dots,  doubtless  leaving  visi- 
ble signs,  as  happens  in  Morse's  operations.  The  book  of  Swaim  pur- 
ports to  have  been  printed  by  Clark  &  Raser,  Philadelphia,  1829." — 
(See  Evidence  of  Dr.  Augustus  A.  Hays  for  Defence,  p.  337.) 

"  The  alphabet  used  by  Bain  is  the  same  in  principle  as  that  em- 
ployed by  Dyar,  Stienheil,  and  also  by  Morse,  consisting  of  combina- 
tions of  dots  and  lines." — (See  Davis's  Telegraph  Book  of  Instruments, 
p.  29.) 

"Stienheil  in  1837  used  dots  and  spaces  as  signs ;  their  signification 
being  dependent  entirely  on  their  position,  the  duration  of  the  electrical 
influence,  its  cessation,  and  the  number  of  the  changes.  I  consider 
these  different  resorts  as  founded  entirely  on  the  adoption  of  existing 
knowledge  of  means,  and  not  the  production  of  ideas  in  even  a  new 
form. 

"When  Stienheil  described  his  telegraphic  combination,  he  made 
no  claim  to  any  exclusive  property  in  the  variation  he  made  in  existing 
arrangements  of  signs;  and  his  modification  carries  with  it  internal 
evidence  that  such  resorts  are  mere  expedients,  conventional  with  pa- 
tentee and  operator. 

"  Between  Swaim's  and  Morse's  we  see  very  slight  differences  only 
arising  from  one  marking  longitudinally  and  the  other  laterally.  In 
Stienheil's,  with  instances  of  identity  with  Morse's,  we  also  notice  a  far 
more  systematic  arrangement  in  the  varied  positions  of  the  dots.  If 
the  ordinary  machines  for  unrolling  a  fillet  of  paper  are  used,  no  dots 
appear  ;  as  even  momentary  contact  of  the  point  or  pen,  leaves  a  shorter 
or  longer  line. 

"  The  claim  to  these  signs  in  combination  with  machinery  is  there- 


54  HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 

fore  deemed  without  foundation  in  essentials,  and  of  a  character  un- 
known to  the  laws  of  patent  inventions.  The  machinery  as  a  com- 
bination of  two  parts  may  be  new,  so  far  as  has  been  before  stated ;  but 
as  a  whole,  it  does  not  produce  any  new  result,  by  new  means  of  a 
mechanical  or  electro-galvanic  character." — (See  Evidence  of  Dr.  Au- 
gustus A.  Hays  for  Defence,  p.  337.) 

Having  shown  from  the  evidence  of  so  many  respectable 
witnesses  that  Bain,  in  using  dots  and  lines  differently  ar- 
ranged and  developed  from  those  used  by  Morse — the  former 
being  the  result  of  chemical  instead  of  mechanical  action — did 
not  interfere  with  Morse's  claims,  we  shall  proceed  to  the  next 
division  of  our  subject,  viz. :  the  claims  of  Morse  and  friends 
to  the  use  of  local  circuits,  relay  and  receiving  magnets,  &c. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

LOCAL   CIRCUITS,  RELAY  AND  RECEIVING   MAGNETS. 

The  second  points  at  issue,  as  previously  stated,  were  the  exclu- 
sive claims  of  Morse  to  the  use  of  local  circuits,  and  relay  and 
receiving  magnets ;  the  local  circuit  generated  from  a  small  sepa- 
rate battery  being  intended  by  him  to  increase  the  mechanical 
action  of  his  machine  in  making  dots  and  lines  on  slips  of  pa- 
per, drawn  by  clock-work  between  small  rollers. 

Here  again  the  evidence  is  more  voluminous  and  conclu- 
sive against  his  exclusive  claims  for  electro-magnetic  motion, 
local  circuits,  and  relay  and  receiving  magnets,  than  it  was 
found  to  be  with  regard  to  the  dots  and  lines. 

Professor  B.  A.  Gould  of  Boston,  p.  68,  for  defence  says : 

"  The  earliest  proposition  of  a  local  (that  is,  of  a  circuit  for  giving 
signals  by  the  action  of  another)  circuit  that  I  have  seen,  is  in  the 
specification  of  Cook  and  Wheatetone,  for  which  an  English  patent  was 
issued  June  12,  183  V." 

Again,  Professor  Eenwick  of  New- York,  in  his  evidence  for 
plaintiffs,  p.  492,  says : 

"  I  have  examined  and  believe  I  understand  the  electric  telegraph 
of  Edward  Davy,  described  in  the  Repertory  of  Patent  Inventions,  new 
series  No  67,  London,  July  1839.  It  does  contain  a  continuation  of 
circuits  whereby  one  opens  and  closes  another." 

On  referring  to  the  specification  of  Edward  Davy,  at  p.  44 
Evidence  for  Defence,  enrolled  January  4,  1839,  we  find, 
that  he  claims  as  follows : 


56  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

"  Fourthly,  I  claim  the  mode  of  making  telegraph  signals,  or  commu- 
nications from  one  distant  place  to  another,  by  the  employment  of  re- 
lays of  metallic  circuits,  brought  into  operation  by  electric  currents. 

"  Fifthly,  The  adapting  and  arranging  of  metallic  circuits  in  making 
telegraph  communications  or  signals  by  electric  currents  in  such  man- 
ner that  the  person  making  the  communication  shall  by  electric  cur- 
rents and  audible  apparatus,  regulate  or  determine  the  place  to  which 
the  signals  or  communications  shall  be  conveyed." 

We  thus  have  here,  announced  in  1839,  the  claim  to  the 
use  of  local  circuits,  or  branch  or  relay  circuits,  and  patents 
issued  for  the  same,  prior  to  Morse's  patents  obtained  in  the 
United  States  in  1840  and  1846,  in  the  latter  of  which  he  sets 
up  an  exclusive  claim  for  the  use  of  local  or  co-operative  circuits 
and  sues  Bain  for  an  infringement,  in  1850 ;  that  is,  some  six  or 
seven  years  after  Davy's  patent,  we  find  Commissioner  Burke 
at  Washington  giving  Morse  a  patent  for  the  same  thing  as  an 
original  discovery.  But  Davy  was  not  the  only  party  who 
claimed  the  first  use  of  co-operative  circuits  and  magnets.  The 
same  was  claimed  in  the  patent  of  Wheatstone  and  Cook, 
dated  December  the  12th,  1839. 

Professor  B.  A.  Gould  for  the  defence,  p.  83,  says : 

"  A  magnet  such  as  Morse  uses  for  a  receiving  magnet  is  no  more  nor 
less  than  an  electro-magnet  as  already  defined.  Cook  and  Wheatstone 
invented  the  receiving  magnet  which  operates  by  deflection." 

Again,  same  page,  he  says : 

*  Wheatstone  and  Cook's  receiving  magnet  has  devices  for  per- 
forming analogous  functions  (to  Morse's),  so  far  as  their  telegraph  re- 
quires it." 

Professor  Thomas  D.  Eogers,  professor  of  chemistry  in  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  says  in 
evidence  for  defence,  page  89 : 

"  The  local  circuit  (of  Morse)  operates  electro-magnetically ;  the 
branch  circuit  (Bain's),  electro-chemically.  The  local  circuit's  effect  when 
the  circuit  is  closed,  is  entirely  independent  of  the  main  line ;  whereas, 


THE  ELECTKIC  TELEGRAPH.  57 

the  branch  current  is  a  part  of,  affects,  and  is  affected  by  the  main 
line." 

Professor  Sears  C.  Walker,  attached  to  the  U.  S.  coast  sur- 
vey, says  page  199,  in  his  evidence  for  the  defence : 

"  No  principles  used  in  the  telegraph  are  original  with  Professor 
Morse ;  only  mechanical  contrivances." 

Again  at  p.   201,  he  says : 

"  I  have  examined  the  branch  circuit  used  by  defendants  (Bain's), 
used  in  their  line  between  Washington  and  New- York.  It  differs  in 
using  a  different  law  of  Nature,  namely,  that  which  regulates  the  chem- 
ical action  of  the  galvanic  current,  in  producing  discoloration  of  paper 
by  decomposition  of  salt,  or  by  a  discoloration  of  a  fluid  on  a  metallic 
surface.  It  differs  in  form  and  structure,  in  being  one  of  two  duplicate 
or  branch  circuits  passing  through  the  same  battery ;  having  one  por- 
tion of  the  circuits  in  common,  which  by  being  broken  would  break 
the  circuit  of  both ;  whereas  the  main  and  local  circuits  in  Morse's  patent 
have  each  an  independent  battery,  and  no  portion  of  the  circuits  in 
common,  being  broken  would  break  the  circuit  of  both.  Another  dif- 
ference is  that  neither  of  Morse's  independent  circuits  can  possibly 
modify  the  quantity  of  the  other ;  whereas,  each  branch  in  Rogers's 
(defendants'  or  Bain's)  branch  circuit  modifies  the  quantity  of  the  other 
branch." 

Professor  George  Mathiot,  employed  in  the  United  States 
coast  survey  as  an  electro-metallurgist,  testifies  in  his  evidence 
for  defence,  p.  208 : 

"  The  parts  of  the  telegraph  were  invented  and  discovered  to  the 
best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief  as  follows.  To  Grove  belongs  the 
battery  (that  is,  the  latest  and  best  constant  battery).  To  Stienheil  we 
are  indebted  for  first  using  a  single  conductor  with  many  stations,  and 
showing  the  mode  of  using  it,  and  also  using  the  ground  for  a  return 
circuit,  and  also,  to  him  I  conceive  belongs  the  Register  and  Stenogra- 
phic Alphabet.  To  Henry  is  to  be  attributed  the  magnets  and  local 
circuits,  batteries,  and  receiving  magnets." 

On  p.  Ill,  he  also  confirms  the  fact,  that  Davy  in  1839 


58  HISTOKICAL  SKETCH  OF 

used  a  local  circuit,  and  recorded  by  "  the  joint  action  of  elec- 
tro-magnetic and  chemical  power." 

At  p.  219  he  gives  it  as  his  opinion,  that  Wheatstone's 
plan  of  using  receiving  magnets,  "  must  eventually  be  used  in 
the  Morse  offices  when  they  come  to  work  on  very  long  lines 
without  relays.  I  have  tested  the  superiority  of  this  form  (the  U 
form)  of  receiving  magnet."  See  also  pp.  223  and  227.  The  func- 
tion of  the  branch  circuit  in  Bain's  plan,  is  rapidly  to  oxidate 
the  iron  point  in  contact  with  chemically  prepared  paper,  and 
thus  produce  dark  spots,  or  dots.  The  function  of  the  local 
circuit  employed  by  Morse  is  to  increase  the  mechanical  action 
of  his  machine. 

Professor  R.  Kieth,  professor  of  mathematics  in  the  United 
States  navy,  sustains  the  evidence  of  all  the  witnesses  hitherto 
given.  To  Stienheil  he  gives  the  credit  of  forming  a  register- 
ing telegraph,  and  to  Wheatstone  and  Cook  the  credit  of  first  in- 
troducing co-operative  circuits  and  receiving  magnets  (see 
pp.  232,  233) ;  and  that  Davy,  also,  had  used  local  circuits.  At 
p.  234,  evidence  for  defence,  he  says  : 

"/  have  examined  Cook  and  Wheatstone's  patent.  It  contains  in 
substance  and  principle  the  local  circuit  used  by  Morse" 

On  the  same  page  he  says : 

"/  have  examined  and  do  understand  the  electro-telegraph  of  Ed- 
ward Davy.  It  contains  in  substance  and  principle  the  same  local 
circuit." 

He  also  on  pp.  234,  235,  states  that  the  branch  circuit 
used  by  Bain,  differs  entirely  in  its  plan  and  arrangements 
from  that  of  Morse,  and  that  while  the  latter  is  distinct  from 
the  main  line,  and  is  merely  intended  to  co-operate  mechanic- 
ally, the  former  regulates  the  action  of  the  main  line,  and  is 
used  simply  to  produce  chemical  decomposition. 

Professor  Wm.  B.  Benedict,  at  pp.  241,  243,  sustains  the 
previous  witnesses  for  defence  in  every  respect.  Speaking  of 
the  branch  circuit  used  by  Bain,  and  the  local  circuit  used  by 
Morse,  he  deposes  that, 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  59 

6  They  are  contrivances  as  essentially  different  in  principle,  form, 
and  mode  of  operation,  as  the  common  principles  which  they  both  involve 
will  allow." 

Professor  •Joseph  Henry,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  In- 
stitute, sustains  the  evidence  given  by  the  preceding  witnesses. 
He  says  for  defence,  p.  254 : 

"  The  object  of  Professor  Wheatstone,  as  I  recollect  it,  in  bring- 
ing into  action  a  second  circuit,  was  to  provide  a  remedy  for  the  dimi- 
nution of  force  in  a  long  circuit." 

Professor  Henry's  electro-magnetic  investigations  commenc- 
ed in  1828,  when  he  repeated  Oersted's  and  Ampere's  experi- 
ments. He  succeeded  by  an  improved  arrangement  in  con- 
structing a  more  powerful  magnet  than  had  hitherto  been  made, 
which  he  explained  to  his  class  in  1829.  See  p.  251  as 
above,  also  252.  He  soon  after  discovered  the  plan  of  making 
magnets  of  intensity,  by  using  a  single  long  copper  wire  coil- 
ed round  a  piece  of  iron  in  the  horse-shoe  form,  connected 
with  a  battery  of  a  number  of  pairs  of  plates,  and  a  quantity 
battery  by  wrapping  a  similar  piece  of  cold  iron  with  several 
coils  of  shorter  pieces  of  copper  wire,  used  in  connection  with 
a  single  pair  of  plates. 

"The  first  of  these  magnets  says  he  (p.  252),  which  is  the  one 
now  employed  in  the  long  or  main  circuit  of  the  telegraph,  may  be 
called  an  intensity  magnet ;  and  the  second,  which  may  be  used  in  the 
local  circuit,  may  be  denominated  the  quantity  magnet. 

These  discoveries  of  Professor  Henry  were  published  in 
Silliman's  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts,  in  1831,  and  which  it 
seems,  from  testimony  previously  adduced,  were  not  known  to 
Morse  until  brought  to  his  notice  by  Dr.  Gale  in  1837,  and 
without  the  use  of  which,  he  could  never  have  succeeded  in 
producing  signals  at  any  considerable  distance  by  his  plan  of 
mechanism.  The  local  small  battery,  and  duplicate  wire  mag- 
net, discovered  by  Professor  Henry,  was  patented  by  Morse  in 
1846,  as  a  sort  of  exclusive  property  in  connection  with  tele- 


60  HISTOKICAL  SKETCH  OF 

graphs.  Both  the  kinds  of  magnets  described  by  Henry  are 
at  this  day  employed  in  the  Morse  lines.  In  the  early  attempts 
to  produce  signals  at  a  distance,  it  was  found  that  in  the  tran- 
sit of  the  electric  fluid  it  had  a  tendency  to  wasje  or  suffer  so 
much  diminution  as  to  become  useless.  « 

Professor  Henry  states  (p.  252)  that,  in  experimenting,  he 
found  a  great  diminution  of  the  fluid  to  ensue  from  the  in- 
crease of  distance,  when  using  a  battery  of  a  single  pair  [or 
quantity]  ;  but  by  removing  it,  and  substituting  one  of  inten- 
sity, consisting  of  25  pairs,  he  found  that  he  could  cause  the 
current  to  act  upon  a  magnet  at  1000  feet,  without  any  appa- 
rent diminution  of  power.  "This,"  "says  he,  "was  the  first 
establishment  of  the  fact,  that  a  galvanic  current  could  be 
made  to  develope  magnetism  in  an  electro-magnet  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  produce  mechanical  effects ;  and  also  of  the  means 
by  which  such  transmission  could  be  accomplished.  I  saw 
that  the  electro-magnetic  telegraph  was  now  practicable ;  and 
in  publishing  my  experiments,  including  those  just  mentioned, 
I  stated  that  the  fact  above  mentioned  was  applicable  to  Bar- 
low's project  of  such  a  telegraph,"  p.  252.  Barlow's  attempt 
with  a  battery  of  a  single  pair  was  made  at  Greenwich,  Eng- 
land, in  1825 ;  and  his  failure  was  caused  by  the  diminution 
of  the  electrical  fluid  in  its  transmission,  while  Professor  Henry 
succeeded,  by  taking  one  for  the  main  circuit  of  intensity. 
Henry,  in  another  part  of  his  testimony,  also  describes  Wheat- 
stone's  plan  of  opening  and  closing  his  circuits,  by  the  deflec- 
tion of  a  needle,  which  he  witnessed  during  his  visit  to  Europe 
in  1837. 

*  Page  254,  as  above,  he  says  that,  after  returning  from  Eu- 
rope, he  repeated  the  experiments  of  Daniel,  of  London,  in 
forming  a  constant  battery,  which  he  had  done  in  1836,  and  of 
Stienheil's  plan  of  a  telegraph  devised  in  1837 ;  and  that  he 
formed  a  telegraph  of  several  hundred  yards  in  length,  which 
worked  successfully  through  the  college  grounds  at  Princeton. 

"  I  find,  by  reference  to  my  note-book,  that  the  date  of  these  experi- 
ments was  October,  1842,  previous  to  the  unsuccessful  attempt  of  Morse 
to  transmit  currents  of  electricity  through  wires  buried  in  the  earth,  be- 


THE  ELECTEIC  TELEGRAPH.  61 

tween  Washington  and  Baltimore,  and  before  lie  attempted  to  use  the 
earth  as  a  part  of  the  circuit.  Previous  to  this  time,  and  after  the 
above-mentioned  experiments,  Mr.  Morse  visited  me  at  Princeton,  to 
consult  me  on  the  arrangement  of  the  conductors.  During  this  visit 
we  conversed  freely  on  the  subject  of  insulation  and  the  conduction  of 
wires.  I  urged  him  to  put  his  wires  on  poles,  and  stated  to  him  my 
experiments  and  their  results."     See  p.  254,  Evidence  for  Defence. 

Again  on  p.  255  he  says : 

"I  heard  nothing  of  the  secondary  circuit  as  a  part  of  Mr.  Morse's 
plan,  until  after  his  return  from  Europe,  whither  he  went  in  1838.  It 
was  not  until  after  this  Mr.  Morse  used  the  earth  as  a  part  of  the  circuit, 
in  accordance  with  the  discovery  of  Stienheil." 

Professor  Henry  in  1831  and  '33  explained  how  that,  by 
raising  a  magnet  and  letting  it  fall  at  the  distant  end  of  a  wire, 
lie  could  make  it  strike  a  bell,  and  thus  produce  signals  or 
alarms.  Mr.  Morse  claims  the  same  thing  in  his  specification 
for  a  patent  in  1840,  and  reissue  of  1846.  Morse  twice  failed 
in  his  attempts  to  establish  an  electro-magnetic  telegraph 
through  the  agency  of  his  mechanism,  and  only  succeeded 
finally  by  availing  himself  of  what  others  had  discovered. 

He  failed  in  the  University  of  New- York,  in  1837,  to  pro- 
duce, by  the  ordinary  battery  and  magnet,  mechanical  effects 
at  a  distance.  So  says  Dr.  Gale,  as  previously  stated.  He 
then  succeeded  by  the  use  of  what  Henry  had  discovered.  He 
again  failed  in  1844,  by  attempting  to  convey  wires  isolated  in 
a  leaden  tube  under  ground,  between  "Washington  and  Balti- 
more. He  then  afterwards  succeeded  by  insulating  a  single 
wire  on  poles,  and  using  the  ground  for  the  return  circuit, 
which  Gauss  and  Weber,  and  Stienheil,  with  Wheatstone  and 
Cook,  had  actually  accomplished  in  Europe  before  him.  And 
had  Congress  never  given  the  $30,000,  and  Morse  made  no 
attempts,  we  should  still  have  had  telegraphs  at  work  in  the 
United  States.  Their  success  had  been  placed  beyond  con- 
tingency by  others  in  advance  of  Morse.  Page  260  (see  evi- 
dence for  defence),  Professor  Henry  states,  when  speaking  of 
the  Morse's  local  circuit  compared  with  Bain's  branch  circuit, 


62  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

that  the  latter  "  is  applied  to  produce  a  record  by  means  of 
electro-chemical  action ;  and,  in  that  of  Mr.  Morse,  to  give  mo- 
tion to  mechanical  marking  apparatus."  "  In  the  case  of  the 
Morse  arrangement,  the  increased  power  is  produced  by  calling 
into  action  a  separate  battery,  to  give  motion,  by  the  means  of 
the  electro -magnet,  to  the  mechanical  apparatus."  "  The  ar- 
rangement of  defendant's  (Bain's),  in  some  respects,  appears  to 
me  to  be  a  different  contrivance,  more  simple,  convenient,  and 
less  expensive  than  the  arrangement  of  Mr.  Morse."  See  his 
testimony  also  at  p.  263,  on  his  cross-examination,  where  he 
explains  the  plan  of  using  the  local  circuit  which  he  had  de- 
vised, by  which,  in  combination  with  a  quantity  magnet,  he 
could,  by  renewing  and  breaking  the  circuit,  raise  from  and 
let  fall  weights  to  the  floor.  This  part  of  his  combination  he 
repeatedly  explained  to  his  class  from  1833  to  1848. 

"  I  also  accompanied  the  exhibition  with  a  statement,  that  the  same 
effect  could  be  produced  by  the  action  of  a  battery  at  a  distance,  by 
ringing  bells,  or  producing  other  mechanical  effects.  The  results  of  my 
first  experiments,  in  causing  an  electro-magnet  to  act  through  a  long 
wire,  furnished  me  with  the  means  of  accomplishing  this.  For  this 
purpose,  it  was  only  necessary  to  attach  a  forked  wire  to  the  armature 
of  a  small  intensity  magnet,  connected  with  the  long  circuit,  in  which 
was  also  an  intensity  battery.  When  the  current  was  passed  through 
the  long  wire,  the  armature  would  be  attracted  upwards,  the  short  cir- 
cuit would  be  broken,  and  the  weight  fall.  I  do  not  recollect  to  have 
exhibited  the  last  part  of  this  arrangement  in  my  lectures,  or  remember 
when  I  invented  it ;  but  the  invention  was  made  and  explained  to  others 
before  the  publication  of  Mr.  Morse  relative  to  his  telegraph.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  invention  was  to  illustrate  the  production  of  mechanical 
effects  at  a  distance,  by  means  of  a  long  circuit  being  made  to  open  a 
short  circuit.  From  my  previous  experiments  in  the  transmission  of 
electricity  through  long  wires,  I  was  well  aware  of  the  fact  that  I  could 
not  cause  the  large  quantity  magnet  to  act  by  a  battery  at  a  distance, 
directly  through  a  long  wire  ;  and  hence  the  necessity  of  this  invention 
to  produce  the  effect  which  I  always  said  I  could  produce." 

Professor  Jackson,  of  Boston,  in  his  evidence  for  defence, 
p.    315,  sustains    the   testimony  of   the    previous  witnesses. 


THE  ELECTKIC  TELEGRAPH.  63 

He  alludes  to  the  local  circuit  claimed  by  Morse  in  his  patent 
of  1846 — and  for  which  he  obtained  a  reissue  in  1848.  After 
describing  it,  he  gives  the  sole  credit  of  its  discovery  and  use 
for  telegraph  purposes  to  Wheatstone  and  Cook,  and  Edward 
Davy,  from  six  to  nine  years  previous  to  Morse's  patent  of 
1846.  He  gives  to  Professor  Henry  the  credit  of  having  dis- 
covered the  principle  and  its  application  of  making  one  circuit 
open  and  close  another,  by  arrangements  previously  noticed. 
Again,  on  the  same  page,  he  says : 

"  Edward  Davy  describes  a  short  circuit  which  was  used  to  record 
his  signs,  in  consequence  of  the  exhausted  state  of  electric  energy  in  the 
long  circuit.  This  is  likewise  in  principle  precisely  the  same  as  Morse's. 
The  self-stopping  apparatus,  mentioned  in  the  patent  of  Morse  for  1846, 
seems  likewise  to  be  described  in  the  said  patent  of  Cook  and  Wheat- 
stone,  and  the  patent  of  Davy." 

Professor  Hayes,  practical  chemist  and  assayer  to  the  State 
of  Massachusetts,  in  his  evidence  for  defence,  pp.  332,  333, 
334,  335,  339,  341,  and  343,  sustains  the  evidence  of  all  the 
previous  witnesses.  In  alluding  to  the  claim  of  Morse  for  the 
local  circuit,  in  his  patent  for  1846  and  its  reissue  in  1848, 
he  says,  p.  335  : 

"The  combination  of  circuits  (claimed  by  Morse),  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  state,  had  been  earlier  adopted,  and  is  in  strict  accordance 
with  expedients  resorted  to  in  general  machinery,  as  well  as  in  apply- 
ing electro-magnetic  influence.  In  the  patents  of  Cook  and  Wheat- 
stone,  and  Davy,  similar  combinations  are  described ;  and  the  inference 
is,  that  the  helices  of  these  inventors  are  really  of  more  practical  value 
than  the  combination  referred  to  in  the  Morse  patent." 

At  p.  339,  the  Professor  states,  that  Morse's  claim,  set 
forth  for  an  apparatus  which  he  calls  a  receiving  magnet,  "is 
new  only  in  name — it  being  the  reproduction  of  the  coil,  or 
helix,  by  which  the  attractive  force  by  position  is  rendered 
more  efficient,  and  was  in  general  use  for  this  purpose  before 
1838."  He  further  declares  in  effect,  that  all  the  claim  or 
title  Morse  has  to  the  apparatus  called  receiving  magnets,  local 


64  HISTOKICAL  SKETCH  OF 

circuits,  and  register  magnet,  is  to  the  new  names  he  has  given 
to  them — and  under  which  he  has  claimed  them  in  his  pa- 
tents, although  discovered  and  used  by  others  before  him. 
Again,  he  contends  that  Cook  and  Wheatstone's  patent  of 
June,  1837,  contains  a  description  of  an  apparatus  which  em- 
bodies all  that  is  new  or  useful  in  the  combination  claimed  by 
Morse.  Again,  we  find  E.  Davy  in  1838  had  described  an 
arrangement  for  the  same,  published  in  12th  vol.  Repertory 
of  Patent  Inventions. 

.  Dr.  William  F.  Channing,  p.  276  for  defence,  states,  that 
the  local  circuit  described  by  Morse  in  his  patent  of  1846,  was 
first  made  and  invented  by  Prof.  Joseph  Henry,  at  Princeton 
College.  He  also  sustains  all  the  other  witnesses  in  regard 
to  dots  and  lines,  co-operative  circuits,  receiving  magnets,  and 
register  magnets,  &c,  as  having  been  discovered  before  Morse 
by  Henry,  Stienheil,  Wheatstone  and  Cook,  and  Davy,  &c. 
He  also  states  that  Davy  had  provided  for  a  complete  system 
of  relays  of  long  circuits.  "  Cook  and  Wheatstone  provided 
for  the  multiplication  of  indicating  instruments  and  of  receiv- 
ing instruments,  with  local  circuits  at  way  stations  in  any 
part  of  the  long  or  telegraph  circuit  where  it  might  be  de- 
sirable to  repeat  or  multiply  copies  of  a  communication." 
(See  p.  377.)  "  In  the  patent  of  S.  F.  B.  Morse  of  April  11th, 
1846,  as  reissued  June  13th,  1848,  I  find  a  description  of  and 
claim  to  a  receiving  instrument  applied  to  operate  a  local  cir- 
cuit, which  had  been  patented  in  principle  by  Davy  in  Eng- 
land, July  4th,  1838,  as  above  described."  He  states  further, 
on  the  same  page,  that  •  the  local,  or  office  circuit,  may  apply 
to  some  systems  of  telegraphs;  but  "  that  the  decomposing 
telegraph  invented  by  Bain  forms  an  exception." 

Morse,  in  his  deposition  in  the  case  against  House's  patent, 
states  that  in  communicating  a  description  of  his  telegraph 
to  the  French  Academy  in  September,  1838,  "it  did  not  in- 
clude the  office  circuit  or  receiving  magnet,  the  utility  of 
which  was  then  unknown."     (See  p.  377.) 

Dr.  Channing  states,  on  same  page,  that  when  this  declara- 
tion of  Morse  was  made  on  the  10th  September,  1838— 
Wheatstone  and  Cook's  patent  fifteen  months  before,  and 


THE  ELECTKIC  TELEGRAPH.  Qo 

Davy's  patent  more  than  two  months  before,  included  the 
office  or  local  circuit,  the  receiving  magnet  as  well  as  the  prin- 
ciple of  relay.  "  Morse  in  his  description  referred  to,  gave  no 
description  of  a  receiving  instrument,  or  either  a  local  circuit 
or  system  of  relays.-" 

Thomas  C.  Avery,  a  philosophical  instrument  maker  of 
New- York  and, at  one  time  attached  to  the  Philosophical 
Department  at  "West  Point,  at  pp.  432,  433,  434,  and  435,  in 
favor  of  defence,  deposes  to  having  been  an  assistant  of  Prof. 
Morse  in  his  first  attempt  to  lay  his  telegraph  in  leaden  tubes 
under  ground,  between  Baltimore  and  Washington.  Morse, 
he  says,  coated  four  wires  and  inserted  them  in  leaden  tubes, 
and  buried  them  for  a  distance  of  ten  miles.  Avery  previously 
urged  his  disbelief  in  the  success  of  the  plan,  while  Morse  ad- 
vocated it ;  and  said  he  intended  to  employ  one  wire  for  trans- 
mitting messages,  and  the  other  for  returning  an  answer.  This 
was  in  December,  1843,  four  or  five  years  after  Wheatstone 
and  Stienheil  had  put  telegraphs  in  operation  in  Europe,  the 
latter  using  a  single  wire,  and  the  ground  for  a  return  circuit. 
The  laying  of  ten  miles  of  tubes  cost  about  $10,000  of  the 
$30,000  which  Congress  had  appropriated,  and  which  Mr. 
Avery  says,  on  trial  proved  a  dead  failure. 

Page  434,  he  says : 

"  Upon  making  our  experiments  on  the  line,  almost  every  thing  was 
a  complete  failure.  The  original  plan  of  laying  the  wires  in  pipes  un- 
der ground  was  a  total  failure,  and  was  abandoned.  The  battery  with 
siphon  tubes  was  a  failure  and  abandoned.  The  relay  magnets,  six 
in  number,  were  not  sufficiently  delicate.  I  was  obliged  to  alter  the  jour- 
nals to  work  on  agate  points,  which  made  them  work  with  more  deli- 
cacy, and  thereby  Mr.  Morse  was  enabled  to  work  with  a  half  quantity 
battery.  The  adjustment  of  the  agate  points  was  my  own  invention. 
Mr.  Morse  was  not  present,  Mr.  Vail  was,  but  did  not  know  what  an 
agate  point  meant.  The  instrument  made  for  writing  never  was  used, 
being  found  totally  useless ;  it  was  cut  up  by  me,  and  part  of  the  mate- 
rials used  by  me  for  making  the  new  improvements.  The  recording 
instrument  had  also  to  be  altered." 

Mr.   Avery  states,   p.  433,  that,   during  the  experiments 
5 


66  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

with  the  lead  pipe,  he  told  Mr.  Morse  that  in  Europe  they  put 
the  wires  on  poles.  The  leaden  tube  plan  was  then  abandoned, 
and,  he  continues, 

"About  the  first  of  April,  1844,  we  commenced  to  put  up  the  wire 
on  poles.  We  erected  two  wires  from  Washington  to  Bladensburg,  a 
distance  of  eight  miles.  The  two  wires  could  be  connected,  so  as  to 
make  one  circuit.  An  experiment  was  then  tried  on  one  of  the  wires 
with  plates  in  the  ground  as  part  of  the  circuit.  I  then  telegraphed  a 
message  to  Washington." 

This  was  the  first  telegraph  line  actually  put  in  operation 
in  the  United  States.  Had  Congress  offered  a  premium  for  the 
successful  erection  of  a  telegraph  line  of  40  miles,  between 
1838  and  1844,  one  would  have  been  in  successful  operation 
in  advance  of  Mr.  Morse. 

Mr.  Avery  states,  that  the  instrument  for  breaking  and 
closing  the  circuit  of  the  wires  was  rude,  consisting  of  a  slip 
of  sheet  copper  with  one  end  fastened  to  the  table,  while  the 
other  being  loose  moved  like  a  spring,  which  was  moved  with 
the  fingers  to  break  and  close  the  circuit.  To  remedy  this 
rude  contrivance,  Avery,  p.  433,  states : 

"  I  invented  and  made  a  finger  key  with  a  spring  and  fulcrum  for 
breaking  and  closing  the  circuit  of  conductors,  the  construction  of  which 
was  my  invention,  the  finger  knob  was  made  of  ivory  or  pearl  for  in- 
sulating the  key  to  prevent  the  electric  shock." 

He  here  produced  a  drawing  of  the  finger  key,  which  he 
invented,  and  which  is  similar  to  the  same  now  in  use  in  all 
the  Morse  offices.     Mr.  Avery  at  another  place  says, 

"  The  introduction  of  the  spiral  spring  was  my  own  invention  and 
suggestion." 

He  states,  page  434,  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  invention 
of  the  local  circuit  until  November  1843.     But  he  says  : 

"  On  referring  to  the  patent  of  Wheatstone  and  Cook  of  1837,  and 
of  Edward  Davy  of  1838,  I  find  the  local  circuit  as  complete  in  form 
and  principle,  as  in  the  patent  of  Morse  at  the  present  day." 


THE   ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  67 

Meaning  Morse's  patent  of  1846,  and  reissue  of  1848.  Mr. 
Aver j  says  that  it  was  at  the  Railroad  House  in  Baltimore,  in 
July  1843,  that  he  invented  the  finger  key,  or  lever,  as  describ- 
ed, for  breaking  and  closing  the  circuit.  This  Morse  claims 
in  his  subsequent  patents  and  reissues  as  his  own  contrivance. 

Professor  Gibbs,  of  the  Free  Academy  New- York,  sustains, 
at  page  437  for  defence,  the  testimony  of  the  previous  wit- 
nesses. He  states  that  Stienheil  was  the  first  to  discover  that 
the  earth  could  be  used  as  a  part  of  a  galvanic  circuit.  This 
he  made  by  his  attempts  to  employ  the  rails  on  a  railroad  to 
conduct  currents  of  electricity. 

At  p.  438,  he,  with  the  foregoing  witnesses,  contends 
that  Wheatstone  and  Cook's  patent  of  1837  does  contain  the 
principle  of  an  apparatus  for  sounding  alarms,  and  the  inven- 
tion of  the  local  circuit  afterwards  claimed  by  Morse,  and  es- 
pecially in  his  reissue  and  patent  of  1846.  He  says : 

"  Morse's  recording  instrument  could  not  be  worked  at  great  dis- 
tances without  this  (local  circuit),  or  some  precisely  analogous  contri- 
vance, but  Wheatstone's  apparatus  might  record  signals  at  very  great 
distances,  without  the  use  of  a  local  circuit,  since  it  is  more  delicate 
than  Morse's,  and  requires  a  current  of  less  force  to  work  it." 

At  p.  439  he  gives  very  clear  ideas  of  the  difference  be- 
tween the  branch  circuit  used  by  Bain,  and  the  local  circuit 
patented  by  Wheatstone  and  Cook,  and  used  by  Morse : 

41  In  Wheatstone's  local  circuit  (like  Morse's),  an  independent  local 
battery  is  employed,  which  is  wholly  inactive  until  called  into  opera- 
tion by  the  action  of  the  main  circuit,  and  which  forms  in  itself  a  sepa- 
rate and  short  circuit  entirely  outside  of  the  main  circuit.  In  the 
branch  circuit,  used  by  defendants  (Bain  &  Co.),  a  galvanic  battery  is 
made  to  form  a  portion  of  the  main  circuit  at  the  station  where  signals 
are  to  be  recorded ;  in  order  to  record  the  signals  transmitted,  a  short 
local  or  recording  circuit  is  introduced,  and  the  current  is  made  to  pass 
through  the  main  circuit  and  recording  circuit  instrument." 

He  goes  on  to  state,  as  others  have  done,  that  Bain's  branch 
circuit  is  not  only  different  from  Wheatstone's  or  Morse's  local 


68  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

circuit,  but  is  used  for  a  different  operation,  viz.,  to  decompose 
the  metallic  point  in  contact  with  paper  moistened  with  the 
solution  of  the  prussiate  of  potash,  so  as  to  produce  chemical 
action,  alone,  in  making  signs ;  while  Wheatstone's  local  cir- 
cuit is  used  by  Morse,  alone,  to  increase  the  mechanical  force 
of  his  instrument.  One  acts  chemically,  and  the  other  me- 
chanically.   He  further  says : 

"  In  the  local  circuit  arrangement  of  Wheatstone,  or  Morse,  two 
independent  galvanic  batteries  must  be  employed ;  in  the  branch  cir- 
cuit of  the  defendants,  a  single  battery  may  be  used  to  work  both  the 
main  and  the  recording  circuit,  and  I  have  seen  one  so  used  between 
New-York  and  Philadelphia."     (See  p.  439.) 

Again  at  p.  441 : 

"  I  have  read  and  examined  the  specification  of  infringements  re- 
ferred to.  I  consider  Mr.  Morse  entitled  to  nothing  else  than  the  pre- 
cise combination  which  he  uses  ;  and  as  the  defendants  use  a  different 
combination,  I  do  not  consider  them  infringing  upon  Morse's  just  claims" 

On  p.  451,  Professor  Gibbs  shows  that  Morse  makes  claims 
to  matters  in  the  reissue  of  his  patent  of  1846,  made  in  1848, 
not  embraced  in  the  original.  Morse  in  his  reissue  of  his  1840 
patent,  in  1846,  claims  the  use  of  electro-magnetic  motion  for 
telegraph  purposes.  Dr.  Bacon,  instructor  of  chemistry  in  the 
Boylston  Medical  School  of  Boston,  sustains  the  evidence  of 
the  previous  witnesses,  as  regards  dots,  local  circuits,  receiving 
magnets,  &c. ;  and  at  pp.  359,  360,  states  that 

"  The  motive  power  of  the  electric  current  was  used  in  Stienheil's 
telegraph,  before  named,  to  record  signals  of  intelligence." 

B.  A.  Gould,  before  referred  to,  at  p.  83  for  defence,  says : 

"  A  magnet,  such  as  Morse  uses  for  a  receiving  magnet,  is  no  more 
nor  less  than  an  electro-magnet  as  already  defined.  Cook  and  "Wheat- 
stone  invented  the  receiving  magnet,  which  operated  by  deflection." 

Page  89,  Professor  Jas.  B.  Kogers  states  that 


THE  ELECTKIC  TELEGKAPH.  69 

"  The  local  circuit  operates  electro-mechanically,  the  branch  circuit 
electro-chemically." 

Having  shown  by  such  a  mass  of  evidence,  that  Morse,  in 
:  the  first  place,  was  not  the  first  to  invent  and  use  the  local  cir- 
cuit ;  and  that,  even  were  it  so,  Bain's  branch  circuit  forms  no 
sort  of  interference  with  it,  we  proceed,  in  the  next  place,  to 
examine  the  chemical  telegraph,  as  the  last  contested  point 
at  issue  of  importance. 


CHAPTER  YIL 

THE  CHEMICAL  TELEGRAPH. 

We  come  now  to  consider  the  chief  remaining  point  at  issue 
between  Morse  and  Bain,  viz.,  the  Chemical  Telegraph. 

To  settle  this  will  require  less  space  than  was  occupied  in 
respect  to  the  previous  heads  of  the  subject.  For  it  will  be 
seen  from  the  testimony  adduced,  that  Morse  has  nothing  to 
claim  in  his  chemical  telegraph,  that  can  by  any  possibility  be 
considered  as  interfered  with  by  Bain's  patent. 

Dyar,  in  his  experiments  on  Long  Island  in  1826,  claims  to 
have  been  the  first  to  try  a  chemical  telegraph. 

Edward  Davy,  of  England,  invented  a  recording  chemical 
telegraph,  which  he  patented  in  1839.  See  p.  44,  Evidence  for 
Defence. 

In  that  patent  he  makes  the  following  claim :  "  Secondly, 
I  claim  the  employment  of  suitably  prepared  fabrics  for  re- 
ceiving marks  by  the  action  of  electric  currents,  for  recording 
telegraph  signals,  signs,  or  communications,  whether  the  same 
be  used  with  the  apparatus  above  described  or  otherwise. 

The  "  suitably  prepared  fabric"  spoken  of  in  this  claim,  re- 
ferred to  paper  or  cloth,  moistened  with  solutions  of  salts,  such 
as  the  hydriodate  of  potash,  or  the  prussiate  of  potash,  or  other 
decomposable  salts,  by  the  action  of  the  electric  fluid,  which 
would  produce  a  black  or  dark  color  when  the  fluid  passed 
through  it,  and  leave  the  paper  unchanged  when  the  fluid  was 
cut  off,  or  the  circuit  was  broken. 

Mr.  Bain  improved  upon  this  patent  of  Davy's,  both  in  re- 
spect to  the  mechanical  apparatus  contrived  in  connection  with 
it,  and  in  preparing  the  paper,  with  improved  chemical  com- 
pounds, which  rendered  its  discoloration,  by  the  action  of  the 


THE   ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  71 

electric  fluid,  more  delicate  and  certain.  For  these  improve- 
ments he  obtained  a  patent  in  England,  which  was  enrolled 
June  12th,  1847 ;  and  in  1848  he  obtained  a  patent  in  the 
United  States.  In  1848  Morse  filed  a  caveat  for  a  chemical 
telegraph,  and  opposed  Bain's  application.  Commissioner 
Burke,  as  stated,  decided  in  favor  of  Morse,  on  the  ground 
that  (contrary  to  all  previous  practice,  in  both  this  country  and 
England)  an  English  patent  did  not  date  from  its  enrolment. 
Bain  made  an  appeal  to  Judge  Cranch,  who  decided  that  he 
was  entitled  to  a  patent.  While  the  case  was  before  the 
Judge,  the  Bain  party  charge  that  Morse's  specification,  being 
discovered  to  contain  some  defect  in  some  part  of  it,  was 
amended  at  the  Patent  Office  by  the  interlining  of  some  words. 
George  Mathiot,  connected  with  the  United  States  Coast 
Survey,  at  p.  211  for  defence,  states : 

"I  have  read  a  description  of  such  an  electric  telegraph  (as  that 
claimed  by  Morse),  invented  by  Edward  Davy,  and  patented  in  Eng- 
land in  1838.  The  arrangement  is  very  similar  to  the  telegraph  of  re- 
spondent's (Bain's),  in  this  case." 

Professor  Augustus  A.  Hays,  of  Boston,  states,  at  p.  343  of 
Evidence  for  Defence,  that 

"  E.  Davy,  in  the  patent  above  alluded  to,  uses  prepared  fabrics ; 
and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  same  chemical  agent,  viz.  iodide  of 
potassium,  which  Davy  uses  and  prefers,  is  stated  by  Morse  in  his  pa- 
tent of  1st  May,  1849,  to  be  the  best  of  the  substances  he  has  men- 
tioned." 

It  must  be  remembered  that  Morse's  patent,  in  which  he 
claims  the  use  of  this  salt,  was  from  nine  to  ten  years  subse- 
quent to  the  date  of  Davy's  patent. 

At  p.  315  same  evidence,  Professor  Charles  T.  Jackson,  of 
Boston,  says: 

"  I  have  seen  the  model  and  patent  of  the  chemical  telegraph  of 
Morse.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  founded  entirely  upon  the  ideas  received 
from  me  by  Morse.  My  idea,  as  announced  to  him,  was  to  produce 
marks  upon  paper  properly  prepared,  by  the  electric  current,  and  to  in- 


72  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

terpret  those  marks  by  numbers.  The  marking  part  of  this  apparatus 
in  this  patent  is  the  same  in  principle  as  that  described  in  the  patent  of 
Davy." 

Professor  Eben  Norton  Horseford,  Eumford  Professor  of 
Science  applied  to  the  Arts,  and  Director  of  the  Chemical  La- 
boratory in  the  Lawrence  Scientific  Department  in  Harvard 
University,  shows  in  his  evidence  for  defence,  pp.  352  and  353, 
that  the  mere  employment  of  different  kinds  of  salts  alone  in 
solution,  applied  to  paper,  as  proposed  in  Morse's  patent,  can- 
not be  used  successfully  to  make  reliable  marks,  except  in  one 
or  two  instances,  and  then  not  so  well  as  the  same  thing  is  done 
in  Bain's  arrangement,  by  a  different  process.  Morse  proposed 
to  decompose  a  number  of  different  kinds  of  salts  which  paper 
had  imbibed,  and  to  cause  marks,  or  dots  and  lines,  at  the 
point  of  contact  with  a  metallic  point,  through  which  the  elec- 
tric fluid  was  conducted.  Professor  Horseford  shows,  that 
many  of  the  salts  proposed  to  be  used  by  Morse  were  utterly 
worthless;  and  Mathiot  states  the  best  named  by  him  had 
been  previously  invented  by  Davy. 

In  Bain's  patent  and  plan  of  working  his  machine,  there  is 
one  essential  point  which  renders  it  entirely  distinct  from 
Morse's,  and  proves  that  it  in  no  respect  interferes,  in  the 
slightest  degree,  with  Morse's  claims  to  a  chemical  telegraph, 
even  had  not  Bain  and  Davy  been  in  advance  of  him.  That 
is,  Bain  wets  paper  with  a  solution  of  the  prussiate  of  potash, 
places  it  on  a  revolving  disk,  and  in  contact  with  a  fine  point 
of  iron  or  copper  wire,  through  which  the  electricity  is  passed 
or  checked  at  will.  Now  he  does  not  use  the  electric  fluid, 
thus  passed  from  a  battery,  to  decompose  the  salts,  but  to  de- 
compose the  metal,  or  iron  point.  To  enable  him  to  do  this, 
he  adds  nitric  acid  to  the  moistened  paper,  or  solution  of  prus- 
siate of  potash.  When  the  electric  fluid  is  passed,  this  acid 
decomposes  the  metallic  point,  converting  it  into  an  oxide  of 
iron  or  copper ;  and  if  the  former,  this  oxide  of  iron  converts, 
at  its  point  of  contact,  the  prussiate  of  potash  into  prussian 
blue,  and  causes  quite  plain  permanent  blue  or  black  spots 
or  lines  to  be  made.     If  copper  wire  be  employed,  the  oxide  of 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  73 

copper  causes  red  dots  or  spots  to  be  made.  Bain  prefers  the 
use  of  the  iron.  Morse  in  his  chemical  patent  makes  no  claim 
to  any  process  of  this  kind  whatever.  Professor  Horseford, 
referred  to  above,  states  at  p.  354  for  defence,  that 

"  Bain  employs  electricity,  not  to  decompose  salts,  but  to  dissolve 
iron  or  copper,  the  blue  or  red  stain  resulting  being  the  effect  of  the 
subsequent  action  of  chemical  affinity,  unaided  by  electricity.  There 
is,  therefore,  no  infringement  upon  the  patent  of  Morse  in  the  practical 
telegraphing  by  the  process  of  Bain. 

"  Morse,  in  his  chemical  patent,  employed  electricity  to  make  colored 
marks  by  the  decomposition  of  salts." 

Professor  Jno.  Bacon,  M.  D.,  of  Boston,  instructor  of  chem- 
istry in  the  Medical  School,  sustains  the  evidence  of  Horseford, 
and  states  furthermore,  that  he  did  not  then  consider  Morse's 
chemical  telegraph  available,  (see  p.  362  defendant's  evidence.) 
He  also  sustains  other  witness  at  p.  362,  regarding  the  use  of 
dots,  local  circuits,  receiving  and  relay  batteries,  &c.  At  p. 
366  he  says,  speaking  of  Bain's  patent : 

"  The  electric  current  is  not  used  to  decompose  the  salt  (prussiate  of 
potash),  but  to  cause  the  oxidation  of  the  end  of  the  steel  or  copper 
wire  resting  upon  the  chemically  prepared  material  and  solution  of  it  in 
the  acid.  By  this  means  a  salt  is  produced  which  reacts  chemically  with 
the  ferro-cyanide  of  iron  (prussian  blue)  or  ferro-cyanide  of  copper 
(prussiate  of  copper).  The  marks  obtained  are  very  distinct  and  perma- 
nent, and  require  only  a  feeble  electric  current  to  produce  them,  espe- 
cially if  a  steel  wire  is  used." 

Professor  Gibbs  sustains  the  evidence  of  the  preceding  wit- 
nesses, and  at  p.  4A\  evidence  for  defence,  says : 

"  I  have  read  and  examined  the  specification  of  infringements  refer- 
red to,  I  consider  Mr.  Morse  entitled  to  nothing  else  than  the  precise 
combination  which  he  uses ;  and  as  the  defendants  use  a  different  com- 
bination, I  do  not  consider  them  as  infringing  upon  said  Morse's  claims." 

Professor  James  B.  Rogers,  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 


74  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

vania,  and  successor  to  Professor  Hare,  sustains  the  evidence 
of  the  foregoing  witnesses. 

At  pp.  91,  92,  he  gives  a  very  clear  analysis  of  the  chem- 
ical telegraph  of  Bain.     He  shows  that — 

"  The  prussiate  of  potash  is  not  decomposable  by  a  current  of  elec- 
tricity. But  when  nitric  acid  is  added,  to  paper  saturated  with  its  solu- 
tion, the  electricity  at  the  moment  of  passing  disengages  a  portion  of  oxy- 
gen from  the  acid  and  water,  which  unites  with  the  steel  points  produ- 
cing the  oxide  of  iron  which  is  dissolved  in  the  remaining  acid,  forming  a 
nitrate  of  iron,  upon  which  the  prussiate  of  potash  acts  chemically,  produ- 
cing the  prussian  blue  marks.  So  that  the  prussiate  of  potash  is  not  decom- 
posed by  the  current  of  electricity ;  but  by  the  chemical  action  of  a  sub- 
stance dependent  for  its  formation  upon  the  nature  of  the  wire  point 
being  iron.  This  decomposition  of  metal  by  freed  oxygen,  by  means 
of  an  electric  current,  forms  no  part  of  Morse's  patent." 

Other  evidence  could  be  multiplied  all  going  to  prove,  be- 
yond all  cavil  and  doubt,  that  Bain's  chemical  telegraph  in  no 
way  interferes  with  any  thing  Morse  has  ever  proposed  in  the 
same  line. 

Finger  Keys. 

Although  Mr.  Avery  claims  to  have  invented  the  finger  key 
in  1844,  and  which  is  substantially  the  same  as  that  used  in 
the  Morse  offices  at  this  time,  yet  it  was  in  evidence  that  finger 
keys  were  in  use  long  prior  to  either  the  claim  of  Avery  or 
Morse.  In  allusion  to  the  finger  key  claimed  by  Morse,  Pro- 
fessor George  Mathiot  at  page  211  for  defence  says: 

"  Such  a  finger  key  was  in  actual  use  in  the  German  telegraph  in 
1837,  while  Morse  was  trying  to  operate  with  port-rules  and  type. 
It  is  also  described  in  the  patent  granted  to  Wheatstone  and  Cook  by 
the  United  States  prior  to  the  patent  granted  to  Morse,  and  patented 
in  England  in  1837,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge.  It  is  also  in  the  pa- 
tent granted  to  Edward  Davy  in  England  in  1838." 

Dr.  Wm.  E.  Channing,  at  p.  381  for  evidence,  says : 

"  The  signal  key  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  obvious  contri- 


THE   ELECTKIC   TELEGKAPH.  75 

vances,  in  connection  with  the  electro-magnetic  telegraph.  Ampere 
described  the  use  of  the  key  in  1820,  and  it  has  since  been  so  generally 
employed  that  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  trace  it  further.  See  "  Comptes 
Rendus"  of  the  French  Academy,  Paris,  1838,  p.  81 ;  also  Annates  de 
Chemie  et  de  Physique,  Paris,  1820,  vol.  xv.,  p.  73." 

Nearly  all  the  witnesses  referred  to  in  what  we  have  pre- 
viously written,  were  also  examined  in  reference  to  harmony 
or  agreement  between  Morse's  original  patents  and  his  reissues ; 
and  they  generally  concurred  in  the  opinion,  that  there  was  a 
material  discrepancy  in  some  points ;  that  terms  were  intro- 
duced not  found  in  the  originals,  and  that  they  disagreed  in 
other  respects.  See  evidence  of  Professor  Gibbs,  p.  451 ;  also 
pp.  448  and  452,  for  defence. 

In  the  evidence  for  the  defence  there  exists  a  large  amount 
of  testimony,  given  by  scientific  men  sustaining  that  from 
which  extracts  have  been  given  ;  and  which  the  limits  of  our 
review  prevents  our  transcribing. 

On  looking  over  the  evidence  on  both  sides,  we  find  the 
defence  sustained  by  fourteen  to  fifteen  men  distinguished  for 
their  scientific  knowledge,  embracing  professors  and  teachers 
of  chemistry  (electricity),  with-  collateral  arts  and  sciences 
The  list  includes  such  men  as  Professor  Joseph  Henry,  Pro 
fessor  C.  T.  Jackson,  Wm.  E.  Channing,  Professors  Horseford 
Gould,  Benedict,  Bigelow,  Sears  C.  Walker,  George  Mathiot 
0.  W.  Gibbs,  Euel  Keith,  A.  A.  Hays,  Coxe,  James  B.  Kogers. 
and  others. 

It  is  but  seldom  in  a  court  of  justice,  we  imagine,  that  such 
an  amount  of  testimony  as  has  been  submitted — obtained  from 
such  a  number  of  men  separately  examined  and  mostly  out  of 
court — has  so  uniformly  agreed.  They  have  all  harmonized  and 
sustained  each  other  in  every  material  fact ;  while  for  the  com- 
plainants, or  plaintiffs,  only  three  men,  of  known  scientific  ce- 
lebrity, gave  testimony  in  opposition  to  that  of  the  other  side. 
These  three  men  were,  first,  Dr.  Page,  who  was  an  examiner  in 
the  Patent  Office,  and  passed  Morse's  patents  and  reissue  in 
1846,  and  Professors  Ken  wick  and  Chilton.  Included  in  the 
defence  for  plaintiffs,  was  a  large  amount  of  testimony  taken 


76  HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 

from  Professor  Morse's  relatives,  including  his  own  deposition, 
besides  the  testimony  of  a  number  of  employees,  &c.,  in  tele- 
graph offices. 

We  have  seen  from  the  analysis  given,  that  Morse  was  not 
entitled  to  the  exclusive  use  of  dots,  the  local  circuit,  receiving 
or  relay  magnets ;  that  signal  keys  and  clock-work  had  been 
used  before  him ;  that  he  could  not  claim  the  exclusive  use  of 
electro-magnetic  motion,  nor  of  the  magnets  invented  by 
Henry  ;  that  he  had  made  no  discoveries  in  electricity  or  gal- 
vanism, or  in  magnetism  or  electro-magnetism,  or  in  any ' 
thing  appertaining  to  electricity  in  any  respect  whatever ;  that 
Davy  had  superseded  him  in  a  chemical  telegraph,  and  that 
Bain's  chemical  telegraph  was  an  entirely  different  thing  from 
that  claimed  by  Morse.  Again  it  may  be  asked,  what  did 
Morse  invent  ?  Professor  Gibbs  replies  to  this  question  at  p. 
441  evidence  for  defence : 

"  I  have  read  and  examined  the  infringements  referred  to.  I  con- 
sider Mr.  Morse  is  entitled  to  nothing  else  than  the  precise  combination 
which  he  uses  ;  and  as  the  defendants  use  a  different  combination,  I  do 
not  consider  them  as  infringing  upon  said  Morse's  claims." 

Mr.  Simeon  Borden,  Civil  Engineer,  &c,  states  at  p.  477 
for  defence,  that  trains  of  clock-work,  similar  to  that  employed 
by  Morse,  were  in  use  before  "  his  (Morse's)  birth." 

As  to  the  real  character  of  what  Morse  is  entitled  to,  it  is 
summed  up  as  follows  by  Mr.  Borden  at  p.  479,  and  repeated 
on  his  cross-examination  at  p.  492.     See  evidence  for  defence. 

"  For  industry  and  perseverance  in  the  arrangement  of  an  alphabet. 
"  For  attaching  a  scratching  point  into  the  lever  of  an  armature. 
"  For  scoring  the  cylinder,  over  which  the  fillet  of  paper  moves. 
"  For  a  combination  of  chemicals." 

The  last,  however,  Mr.  Borden  declared  were  not,  and 
could  not  be  successfully  introduced  in  practice,  and  hence  did 
not  infringe  Bain's  patent. 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

DATES  AT  WHICH  THE  CHIEF  TELEGRAPH  LINES  IN"  THE  UNITED 
STATES  HAVE  BEEN  BUILT  AND  PUT  IN  OPERATION. 

1844. — In  this  year  the  first  line  of  electric  telegraph  was  built 
in  the  United  States,  and  extended  from  Washington  to  Balti- 
more about  40  miles,  by  S.  F.  B.  Morse  and  his  associates,  Con- 
gress having  made  a  grant  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  to  enable 
them  to  put  it  in  operation. 

1845. — This  year  another  line  was  opened  between  New- 
York  and  Philadelphia,  and  Wilmington,  by  a  company  orga- 
nized as  the  New-  York  and  Washington  Telegraph  Company,  of 
which  Amos  Kendall  was  first  president,  Mr.  Hart  of  Phila- 
delphia secretary,  and  Thomas  Clark  of  New- York  treasurer. 
Mr.  Kendall  was  succeeded  in  1850  by  Mr.  French,  and  he  in 
1851,  '52,  by  William  Swain  of  the  Philadelphia  Ledger. 

1846. — Early  in  1846  their  line  was  completed  by  filling 
the  link  from  Wilmington  to  Baltimore.  For  some  time  the 
news  of  battles  in  Mexico  was  brought  by  mail  or  express  to 
Wilmington,  and  thence  telegraphed  to  New- York. 

1846. — In  the  spring  of  this  year,  a  line  was  opened  from 
Albany  to  Buffalo,  under  a  company  of  which  Theodore  S. 
Faxton  of  Utica  was  elected  president. 

1847. — June  22d  this  line  between  Buffalo  and  New- York 
was  rendered  complete,  by  opening  the  line  between  New- 
York  and  Albany. 

1846. — A  line  was  first  opened  between  New- York  and 
Boston,  under  the  management  of  F.  O.  J.  Smith,  with  whom 
some  of  the  Boston  papers  became  offended  at  his  management, 
and  nicknamed  him  "  Fog  Smith,"  by  which  he  became  well 
known.     He  had  purchased  one  fourth  interest  in  Morse's  pa- 


78  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

tent  while  a  member  of  Congress,  between  the  years  of  1838  and 
1844.  He  was  at  one  period  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Commerce,  which  reported  the  appropriation  bill  of  $30,000  in 
favor  of  Morse,  and  which  ultimately  passed.  He  built  the 
line  in  conjunction  with  a  company  of  subscribers,  and  in  virtue 
of  a  contract  with  Kendall,  Morse.,  and  Yail,  co-proprietors  of 
the  patent.  Smith  finally  purchased  a  sufficient  number  of 
shares,  to  give  him  a  majority  of  the  stock.  He  afterwards  man- 
aged the  line  as  he  pleased,  regardless  of  the  views  or  wishes  of 
many  leading  newspapers,  with  whom  he  became  involved  in 
bitter  quarrels,  and  which  resulted  in  the  erection  and  encour- 
agement of  opposition  lines  under  House's  and  Bain's  patents, 
from  New- York  to  Boston,  and  of  another  line  from  Boston  to 
Portland,  where  Bain's  line  joined  on  to  the  Portland  and  St. 
John's  line.  From  this  place,  another  line  was  continued  by  a 
provincial  company  to  Halifax,  and  by  which  the  New- York 
associated  press  have  received  news  brought  by  steamers  to 
the  latter  town,  without  using  Smith's  line.  In  1847  Smith 
built  a  line  himself  from  Boston  to  Portland,  and  owned  it  as 
his  exclusive  property. 

1846,  '47. — Henry  O'Keilly,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  well  known 
for  his  talents,  perseverance,  and  energy  of  character,  put  in 
operation  what  he  termed  his  Atlantic  and  Mississippi  lines ; 
the  first  of  which  extended  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg, 
and  which  was  continued  to  Cincinnati.  From  this  latter 
point  other  lines  were  built  in  1847  and  1848,  under  his  direc- 
tion, extending  from  Cincinnati  to  St.  Louis ;  and  from  thence 
lines  in  other  directions,  one  of  which  reached  Galena,  in  Illi- 
nois, and  in  its  course  interlocked  with  an  extensive  interlac- 
ing of  Lake  lines.  He  also  pushed  on  a  line  from  Louisville, 
south,  to  Nashville  ;  and  from  thence  a  branch  to  Memphis, 
with  a  main  line  through  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans.  More 
lines  of  telegraph  have  been  erected  under  his  direction  than 
by  any  other  person  in  the  world. 

A  misunderstanding  grew  up  between  the  Morse  patentees 
and  Mr.  O'Reilly,  with  regard  to  the  contract  he  had  made 
with  them  for  the  use  of  their  instruments  on  his  lines.  Mr. 
O'Reilly  contended  that  they  had  violated,  or  refused  to  com- 


THE   ELECTRIC   TELEGRAPH.  79 

ply  with  their  agreement.  We  have  not  room  to  give  any 
detaijs  of  the  dispute.  The  result  was,  that  Mr.  O'Keilly,  on 
his  Louisville  and  Nashville  line,  introduced  a  new  instrument, 
invented  by  Zook  &  Barnes.  A  lawsuit  followed,  as  previ- 
ously stated,  and  the  case  was  carried  from  the  District  Court 
of  Kentucky,  by  Mr.  O'Reilly,  to  the  Supreme  Court,  where 
it  still  rests,  the  decision  in  the  District  Court  having  been  un- 
favorable to  his  cause.  He  soon  after  substituted  the  use  of 
the  Bain  instruments  in  the  same  sections  of  country,  and  so 
far  we  have  heard  of  no  further  suits  regarding  them  in  that 
quarter. 

1847. — A  line  wa,s  constructed  by  E.  Cornell,  Esq.,  of  Ith- 
ica,  N.  Y.,  from  Troy,  N.  Y.,  to  Montreal,  Canada,  for  a  com- 
pany organized  for  the  purpose.  It  was  in  the  same  year  that 
a  line  was  opened  from  Portland  to  St.  John's,  N.  B.  It  was 
also  in  this  year,  and  early  in  the  following  summer,  that 
Quebec,  Montreal,  and  Toronto  were  put  in  communication. 
Lines  were  also  built  to  connect  Oswego  with  Syracuse,  and 
Buffalo  with  Toronto  in  Canada,  and  Erie  in  Pennsylvania. 

1848. — In  this  year  Mr.  E.  Cornell  also  built  and  opened 
a  line  extending  from  New- York  to  Lake  Erie,  following 
chiefly  the  track  of  the  Erie  Railroad,  and  which  was  finally 
Joined  to  lines  erected  by  Mr.  Speed  and  others  in  1847  and 
1848,  extending  to  Erie,  Cleveland,  Toledo,  Monroe,  Detroit, 
and  thence  around  the  southern  shore  to  Chicago,  Milwaukie, 
y&c,  where  in  many  cases  they  were  interwoven  with  the 
O'Reilly,  Lake,  and  Mississippi  lines,  and  from  which  have 
since  diverged  others  to  Pittsburg  and  Cincinnati.  A  company 
was  organized  in  1846,  to  build  a  line  from  Washington  to 
New  Orleans,  and  intermediate  places  along  the  seaboard. 
This  was  put  in  operation  as  far  as  Petersburg,  Va.,  in  1847, 
and  opened  the  entire  distance  to  New  Orleans  in  1848.  Elam 
Alexander,  Esq.,  of  Macon,  Georgia,  became  the  president  of 
the  line.  This  forms  the  longest  continuous  line  under  the 
control  of  a  single  company.  It  connects  the  principal  sea- 
board commercial  cities  of  the  South  with  New- York.  The 
company  have  extended  a  wire  from  Washington  to  New- 
York,  where  they  have  established  an  office. 


80  HISTOKICAL  SKETCH  OF 


House  Lines. 

1847-1848. — A  line  was  built  to  be  worked  by  Royal 
E.  House's  printing  telegraph  instruments  between  New- York 
and  Philadelphia.  The  line  was  built  for  a  company  by  G.  E. 
Downing,  Esq.,  of  the  latter  city. 

1849. — The  same  party  built  a  line  to  be  worked  by  the 
House  instruments  between  New- York  and  Boston,  which  Mr. 
Downing  presided  over,  and  of  which  Mr.  Sturges,  of  Boston, 
was  manager.  Changes  in  the  management  of  both  lines, 
however,  have  since  been  effected,  and  the  proprietorship  of 
the  New- York  and  Philadelphia  line  has  changed  hands. 

1850. — A  House  line  was  built  to  connect  New-York  and 
Buffalo  with  intermediate  places,  by  plans  of  insulation  sup- 
plied by  Mr.  House,  and  executed  by  Mr.  Edson  and  others. 
This,  taken  altogether,  forms  one  of  the  most  substantial  and 
best-built  lines  to  be  seen  in  the  country. 

A  House  line  has  since  been  built  and  put  in  operation  be- 
tween Buffalo  and  Cincinnati. 

Lines  worked  by  Bain's  Patent 

1850. — A  line  in  this  year  was  constructed  and  opened,  to 
be  worked  by  Bain's  instruments,  between  New- York  and 
Washington.  The  line  was  built  under  the  superintendence 
of  Henry  D.  Rogers,  Esq.  The  company  who  constructed 
this  line  were  sued  by  the  representatives  of  the  Morse  pa- 
tent, and  a  trial  had  before  Judge  Kane,  of  Philadelphia,  who 
decided  unfavorably  to  the  claimants  under  Bain's.  An  ap- 
peal was  taken  to  the  Supreme  Court.  Soon  after,  however, 
the  Bain  company  sold  out  their  line  to  the  Morse  com- 
pany. 

1850. — Another  Bain  line  was  constructed  and  opened  be- 
tween New- York  and  Boston,  called  the  "  Merchants'  Line,'1 
of  which  Marshall  Lefferts,  Esq.,  became  president.  This  line 
•  was  remarkably  well  constructed,  and  has  been  at  all  times 
one  of  the  best  managed  in  the  United  States. 

1851. — Another  Bain  line  was  built  and  put  in  operation 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  81 

between  New- York  and  Buffalo,  which  was  constructed  under 
the  supervision  of  Henry  O'Reilly,  for  a  company.  Mr.  Lef- 
ferts  also  became  the  president  of  this  line,  and  Mr.  McKinley 
the  superintendent  of  both  lines. 

1851. — An  extension  of  the  Bain  line  was  built  from  Bos- 
ton to  Portland,  which  connected  with  the  Portland,  St.  John's, 
and  Halifax  lines. 

About  the  same  time  Professor  Benedict,  of  Vermont,  con- 
structed a  Bain  line,  which  connected  Boston  with  the  Mon- 
treal lines,  passing  through  Yermont. 

Several  other  short  lines  have  also  been  constructed  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  forming  an  extensive  net-work 
of  wires  of  a  greater  aggregate  length  than  exists  in  any  other 
part  of  the  world.  * 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

NEW  PROJECTED  TELEGRAPH  LINES  TO  FACILITATE  THE 
TRANSMISSION  OF  NEWS  BETWEEN  THE  NEW  AND  OLD 
WORLD,  AND  TO  UNITE  IN  COMMUNICATION  THE  ALANTIC 
WITH  THE  PACIFIC. 

The  importance  of  speedy  communication  between  the  At- 
lantic and  Pacific  is  quite  obvious.  While  Mr.  Whitney  has 
perseveringly  pressed  forward  his  scheme  for  the  construction 
of  a  railroad,  Mr.  Henry  O'Reilly,  who  constructed  so  many 
telegraphs  at  the  West,  (with  a  main  stretch  connecting  Phila- 
delphia and  St.  Louis) — estimated  by  himself  at  about  7,000 
miles — has  followed  up  his  plan  for  building  a  great  national 
line,  leading  from  the  Mississippi  to  California. 

Mr.  O'Reilly  presented  a  memorial  on  the  subject  at  a  pre- 
vious session  of  Congress,  which  has  been  renewed  at  the  pre- 
sent session  (March,  1852).  This  renewal  is  dated  New- York, 
December,  1851 ;  and  was  presented  in  the  Senate  by  the 
Hon.  Mr.  Douglas,  of  Illinois. 

To  enable  the  reader  to  understand  the  plan  proposed  by 
the  memorialist,  we  give  the  following  extracts  from  the  docu- 
ment.    He  heads  his  memorial  thus  : 

"  Telegraphic  and  Letter-Mail  Communication  with  the  Pacific — 
Including  the  Protection  of  Emigrants  and  the  Formation  of  Settle- 
ments along  the  Route  through  Nebraska,  Deseret,  California,  and 
Oregon,  with  branches  to  New  Mexico,  &c. — and  facilitating  the  cor- 
respondence across  the  American  Continent  between  Europe,  China, 
Hawaii,  Australia,  &c." 

He  afterwards  proceeds  to  say : 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  83 

"  The  fact  that  the  undersigned  SOLICITS  NEITHER  MONEY 
NOR  FAVOR  from  the  Federal  Government,  may  at  least  free  this 
Memorial  from  some  of  the  difficulties  usually  connected  with  individual 
applications  for  governmental  attention.  The  undersigned  asks  no- 
thing from  that  Government  which  should  not  be  shared  in  common 
with  all  citizens  whose  business  requires  protection  of  life  and  pro- 
perty across  the  Public  Domain.  Having  been  sustained  by  Public 
Confidence,  and  not  by  any  Governmental  assistance,  from  the  com- 
mencement of  Telegraphing  in  America  down  to  the  present  period,  he 
prefers  to  continue  that  reliance  upon  his  fellow-citizens,  individually — 
being  well  assured  of  adequate  support  in  this  enterprise  from  energetic 
capitalists  and  business-men — rather  than  solicit  from  Government  any 
assistance  which  may  not  be  commonly  enjoyed  by  all  persons  who 
embark  their  lives  and  property  in  Telegraphic  or  other  enterprises 
through  the  Public  Domain,  between  Missouri  and  California." 


The  proposition  is  substantially  to  the  following  effect : 

"  That  Congress  shall  pass  a  law,  providing,  that  instead  of  estab- 
lishing forts,  with  hundreds  of  men  at  long  intervals  apart,  the  troops 
designed  for  protecting  the  route  shall  be  distributed  in  a  manner  better 
calculated  to  promote  that  and  other  important  objects  on  the  principal 
route  through  the  Public  Domain — namely,  by  stationing  parties  of 

TWENTY  DRAGOONS  AT  STOCKADES  TWENTY  MILES  APART  ! 

"  And  providing,  also,  that  two  or  three  soldiers  shall  ride  daily, 
each  way,  from  each  stockade,  so  as  to  transport  a  Daily  Express  Let- 
ter-Mail across  the  Continent  ;  while  at  the  same  time  protecting 
and  comforting  the  emigrants  and  settlers;  and  thus  incidentally 

FURNISHING  ALL  THE  PROTECTION  WHICH  THE  UNDERSIGNED  INVOKES  AS 

a  necessary  preliminary  for  completing  the  comparatively  short  link  of 
Telegraph  between  Missouri  and  California — short,  comparatively,  as 
contrasted  with  the  seven  thousand  miles  of  Telegraph  constructed 
under  his  arrangements  in  the  First  Division  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pa- 
cific Telegraph. 

******* 

"  With  such  a  System  promptly  and  liberally  carried  into  effect, 
the  undersigned  does  not  hesitate  to  repeat  the  prediction,  that,  within 
two  years,  at  farthest,  the  EUROPEAN  NEWS  may  be  PUBLISHED 
on  the  American  shores  of  the  PACIFIC  OCEAN  WITHIN  ONE 


84  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

WEEK  from  the  sailing  of  the  steamers  on*  the  "shortened  route"  be- 
tween the  OLD  WORLD  and  the  NEW." 

Whether  Congress  shall  see  fit  to  grant  the  memorial,  or 
whether  such  a  scheme  is  really  practicable  at  the  present 
time,  is  immaterial. 

It  is  certain  that,  as  soon  as  the  Indians  are  brought  into 
peaceable  subjection,  and  a  good  highway  is  established  from 
Missouri  to  California,  Electrical  Telegraph  lines  will  be  built 
over  the  entire  route.  In  the  present  rapid  growth  of  the 
country,  it  is  probable  that  within  ten  years  New- York  will 
be  in  telegraphic  communication  with  San  Francisco. 

Another  enterprise  of  scarcely  less  importance,  and  with 
every  prospect  of  early  consummation,  has  lately  been  started. 
It  is  said  steamers  can  make  ordinary  passages  between  Cape 
Kace,  Newfoundland,  and  Gralway,  Ireland,  in  five  days. 

A  company  has  been  formed  to  construct  a  line  of  tele- 
graph from  Halifax,  N.  S.,  to  Cape  Eace,  with  a  capital  of 
£100,000  (near  $500,000). 

"  The  Engineer  of  the  Company  is  Mr.  F.  N.  Gishorne,  late  General 
Superintendent  of  the  Eastern  lines  of  telegraph  in  the  British  Provin- 
ces, who  surveyed  the  route  last  year,  and  will  leave  in  a  few  days  for 
Europe,  to  make  contracts  for  the  submarine  wire.  This  projected  line 
of  telegraph  completed,  New- York  will  be  brought  within  five  days  of 
London.  It  is  yet  undecided  whether  to  run  the  line  to  Cape  North, 
at  the  Northern  extremity  of  Nova  Scotia,  or  to  Prince  Edward's  Island. 
Should  the  former  route  be  chosen,  but  forty-eight  miles  of  submarine 
wire  will  be  required  ;  if  the  latter,  one  hundred  and  thirty  ;  but  the 
adoption  of  this  will  reduce  the  distance  three  hundred  miles,  and  the 
line  will  pass  through  a  thickly  populated  country,  from  which  consid- 
erable local  support  will  be  derived.  The  Company  is  guaranteed  the 
exclusive  right  to  telegraph  across  Newfoundland  for  thirty  years,  and 
is  granted  a  bonus  of  thirty  square  miles  of  land  and  $30,000.  It  is 
expected  that  the  whole  will  be  completed  and  in  operation  in  six 
months  from  the  present  time."  See  the  Journal  of  Commerce  of  the 
9th  April,  1852. 

Another  project  is  on  foot  in  England,  to  cross  the  St. 
George's  Channel  by  means  of  a  submarine  telegraph,  as  has 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  85 

already  been  accomplished  between  Dover  and  Calais,  across 
the  English  Channel.  From  the  St.  George's  Channel,  it  will 
be  an  easy  matter  to  extend  the  wires  to  Galway,  on  the  west 
coast. 

When  these  enterprises  come  into  operation,  including  com- 
munication between  New- York  and  San  Francisco,  what  will 
then  be  the  position  of  the  civilized  world  in  regard  to  tele- 
graphic intercourse  ?  All  the  chief  towns  of  this  vast  conti- 
nent will  be  within  five  days'  communication  with  all  the  capi- 
tals and  principal  cities  and  towns  of  Europe. 

Steamships  can  make  regular  voyages  between  San  Fran- 
cisco and  the  Chinese  ports  of  Canton  and  Shanghai,  in  from  22 
to  23  days,  and  probably  in  25  or  30  days  to  Australia.  Hence 
the  time  will  soon  arrive,  when  New- York  will  be  brought 
within  from  22  to  23  days'  communication  with  China,  and 
all  the  cities  of  Europe  can  also  communicate  with  China  in 
from  27  to  28  days ! 

Thus,  a  merchant  in  Liverpool  or  New- York,  after  having 
dispatched  his  ship  for  a  month  or  more,  with  a  cargo  for 
China,  can,  on  a  change  of  the  markets  in  either  place  in  the 
articles  shipped,  or  in  the  value  of  teas  or  silks  to  be  purchased, 
forward  fresh  instructions  to  his  consignee  or  supercargo,  which 
will  reach  the  Chinese  ports  in  advance  of  his  vessel.  In  this 
point  of  view,  the  value  of  such  speedy  communication  be- 
comes incalculable. 

A  recent  proposition  has  been  started  to  connect  the  island 
of  Cuba  with  the  peninsula  of  Florida,  by  a  submarine  tele- 
graph. It  is  said  parties  in  Cuba  have  obtained  a  grant  for 
this  purpose,  and  propose  organizing  a  company,  embracing 
parties  in  the  United  States,  to  carry  it  into  effect.  We  ima- 
gine this  enterprise,  from  the  great  depth  of  the  intervening  sea, 
and  the  coral  irregularities  of  the  shores,  will  be  attended  with 
considerable  difficulties,  though  probably  not  of  an  insur- 
mountable character. 

A  telegraph  line  has  been  authorized  by  the  Mexican  gov- 
ernment, to  connect  Vera  Cruz  with  the  capital,  and  to  be  con- 
tinued from  thence  to  Acapulco,  on  the  Pacific. 

It  is  said  the  section  between  the  city  and  Vera  Cruz  has 


86  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

been  for  some  time  in  the  course  of  erection,  and  is  soon  to  be 
completed  and  put  in  operation.  Another  line  was  projected 
to  connect  the  city  with  Matamoras,  thence  extending  through 
Texas  to  New-Orleans.  The  erection  of  such  a  line  must  be 
considered  rather  remote. 


CHAPTER  X. 

STATISTICS  OF  TELEGRAPHS  IN"  THE  UNITED  STATES,  PLAN  OF 
ERECTING  LINES,  METHOD  AND  EXPENSE  OF  OPERATING 
THEM,  ETC. 

i  The  length,  of  telegraph,  lines  built  and  in  operation  in  the 
United- States  and  Canada,  is  estimated  at  from  12,000  to  15,000 
miles.  The  most  distant  points  in  communication  are  Halifax, 
N.  S.,  and  Quebec  with  New  Orleans,  near  3,000  miles  inter- 
vening between  them,  following  the  circuitous  routes  of  the 
wires.  The  towns  and  villages  which,  are  accommodated  with 
telegraph  stations  amount  to  between  450  and  500.  As  there 
are  competing  lines,  under  different  companies,  between  New- 
York  and  other  principal  cities,  many  of  the  towns  have  two  or 
three  separate  telegraph  offices.  New  Orleans  is  connected  with. 
New- York  by  two  lines.  The  first  passing  south,  by  the  way 
of  Washington,  Richmond,  Charleston,  Savannah,  Augusta, 
Macon  and  Columbus,  Ga.,  and  Montgomery  and  Mobile,  to 
New  Orleans.  The  other  passes  via  Pittsburg,  Cincinnati, 
Louisville,  Nashville,  and  thence  through  Mississippi  to  New 
Orleans.  Each  of  these  routes  intersects  with  other  lines,  and 
give  off  lateral  branches  to  many  places  not  on  the  main  routes. 
The  distance  traversed  by  either  line  from  New- York  to  New 
Orleans  does  not  vary  much  from  about  2,000  miles.  Messa- 
ges passing  from  one  of  these  cities  to  the  other  have  usually 
to  be  re-written  four  or  five  times  at  intermediate  stations ; 
though,  by  an  improved  method  of  magnetic  connections,  the 
seaboard  line  has,  in  good  weather,  transmitted  communications 
direct  between  New- York  and  Mobile,  without  intermediate  re- 
writing, a  distance  of  near  1,800  miles.  By  the  "Western  or 
Cincinnati  route  to  New  Orleans,  steamers'  news  handed  in  at 


88  HISTOEICAL  SKETCH  OF 

8  A.  M.,  has  reached  New  Orleans,  and  the  effects  produced 
on  the  market  at  that  point  returned  to  New- York  by  11 
o'clock  A.  M.  Short  messages  forwarded  from  New- York 
have  frequently  beaten  time  in  reaching  St.  Louis  and  New 
Orleans.  •■ 

To  illustrate  the  speed  with  which  news  is  sometimes  trans- 
mitted, we  give  an  extract  from  the  New-  Fork  Herald  on  an- 
other page. 

The  dispatch  referred  to  was  one  that  we  had  received 
from  our  correspondent  in  Liverpool,  and  forwarded  to  the 
Merchants'  Exchange  in  New-Orleans.  The  plan  of  operations 
which  we  adopted  was  as  follows.  We  requested  our  Liver- 
pool friend  to  prepare  a  synopsis  of  commercial  news,  up  to 
the  moment  of  the  departure  of  each  steamer,  and  to  make 
four  copies  of  it  on  manifold  paper.  It  was  also  condensed 
into  a  form  ready  for  transmission  the  moment  the  steamer 
reached  our  port.  We  hired  news  boatmen  to  cruise  down 
the  harbor  and  watch  for  the  steamers.  As  soon  as  one  appear- 
ed at  quarantine  they  would  board  her,  and  obtain  our  bag 
from  the  hands  of  one  of  the  employe's  of  the  boat.  This 
bag  would  contain  the  latest  Liverpool  and  London  papers. 
As  soon  as  our  boatmen  obtained  the  package,  they  would 
make  all  possible  speed  for  the  city  both  by  oars  and  sails.  On 
landing  at  the  docks,  they  would  immediately  fly  to  the  tele- 
graph office  with  manifold  slips,  one  of  which  was  invariably 
sent  to  New  Orleans  as  stated. 

On  one  occasion  late  in  the  afternoon,  the  Asia  arrived  at 
quarantine.  A  strong  southerly  breeze  was  blowing,  and  our 
newsmen  set  sail  and  reached  the  city  in  very  quick  time. 
The  news  was  put  into  the  telegraph  office  for  New  Orleans, 
it  reached  there  and  an  answer  was  returned  before  the  steamer 
came  up. 

Upon  another  occasion,  when  great  anxiety  prevailed  re- 
garding the  safety  of  the  Atlantic,  the  Africa  arrived  after 
dark  off  quarantine,  and  it  was  generally  conceded  that  unless 
she  brought  some  tidings  of  the  missing  ship,  that  she  must 
be  given  up  for  lost.  Again  our  newsmen  brought  the  first 
intelligence  received  by  the  Africa  to  the  city,  that  the  "At- 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  89 

lantic  was  safe !  "  We  immediately  sent  the  news  to  all  parts 
of  the  country,  and  also  to  Mr.  E.  K.  Collins,  the  consignee  of 
the  Atlantic,  who  was  then  in  Washington,  and  who  afterwards 
informed  us  that  our  dispatch  gave  him  the  first  intelligence  of 
the  Atlantic's  safety.  We  had  also  the  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that  our  news  reached  all  parts  of  the  country,  before  the 
Africa  came  up  to  the  city. 

We  shall  never  forget  the  thrill  of  joy  with  which  the 
news  was  every  where  received.  Every  public  place  down- 
town, and  newspaper  office,  was  besieged  by  hundreds,  if  not 
thousands  in  this  city,  as  soon  as  the  Africa  was  telegraphed 
as  being  in  the  offing ;  and  they  awaited  with  breathless  anxi- 
ety the  result  of  her  tidings  regarding  the  Atlantic.  At  last 
the  news  came.  It  was  read  aloud  to  them — "  The  Atlantic  is 
safe  /"  when  there  arose  loud  and  enthusiastic  shouts  of  joy. 
It  flew  from  mouth  to  mouth — from  one  extremity  of  the  city 
to  the  other — along  the  shipping — among  the  ship-yards  and 
ship-builders — among  those  who  had  worked  on  the  missing 
vessel.  It  flew  abroad  to  the  suburban  towns.  It  became  a 
theme  of  exultation  at  the  hotels  and  theatres.  In  some  of  the 
latter,  the  managers  came  on  the  boards  and  announced  to 
their  auditors  that  "  the  Atlantic  is  safe  /"  which  was  followed 
by  the  rising  of  the  whole  audience  to  their  feet,  and  giving 
the  most  deafening  and  enthusiastic  applause.  In  our  whole 
experience  in  telegraph  reporting,  we  recollect  no  instance  in 
which  a  piece  of  news  gave  such  universal  delight.  No  battle 
ever  won  in  Mexico  diffused  greater  satisfaction  in  New- York 
than  the  safety  of  the  noble  ship  Atlantic.  The  circumstance 
furnished  evidence  of  the  strong  current  of  national  feeling 
which  was  associated  with  the  success  of  the  "  Collins  Line  of 
Steamers"  and  which  have  so  nobly  rewarded  that  proud 
national  feeling,  by  distancing  all  competition. 

'We  return  to  the  extract  regarding  the  Europa's  news, 
from  which  we  have  digressed.     Here  it  is : 

"  The  Europa  reached  her  wharf  yesterday  at  6£,  A.  M.  Her  news 
was  at  the  O'Reilly  Telegraph  Office,  181  Broadway,  somewhere  be- 
fore 7,  previous  to  the  office  being  opened.     The  Pittsburg  office  got  to 


90  HISTOKICAL  SKETCH  OF 

work  about  8,  A.  M.,  and  the  dispatch  commenced  going  to  New-Or- 
leans 10  minutes  past  8,  and  was  received  and  put  up  in  the  Exchange 
before  9  A.  M.,  and  the  acknowledgment  of  its  receipt  as  at  foot  reached 
the  O'Eeilly  Telegraph  Office,  New-York,  at  llj — thus  having  travelled 
from  New- York  to  New-Orleans  and  back  in  three  hours  and  five 
minutes.    * 

O'Reilly's  Telegraph  Office,  ) 
New  Orleans,  May  8.      f 
To  Smith,  Chief  Operator,  New-  York  Office  : 

"  The  foreign  news  per  Europa,  signed  "  Jones,"  was  received  here 
before  9  o'clock,  A.  M.,  New-Orleans  time. 

Signed  "  ZOOK,  Chief  Operator." 

This  news,  in  its  transmission,  as  will  appear  by  the  following  note 
from  Mr.  Baily,  clerk  in  the  O'Reilly  Telegraph  Office,  was  only  re- 
written three  times : 

181  Broadway,  May  8— P.  M. 
"  I  have  to  state  that  the  foreign  news  by  the  Europa  was  forwarded 
from  this  office  at  8h.  10m.,  A.  M.  It  was  only  rewritten  at  Pitts- 
burgh, Louisville  and  Tuscumbia,  before  reaching  New-Orleans,  where 
it  was  received  and  hung  up  in  the  Merchants'  Exchange  before  9  A.  M., 
New-Orleans  time.  The  message  acknowledging  its  receipt  as  above 
was  received  at  this  office  at  Hi,  A.  M. 

Signed  "  BAILY,  Operator." 

"  The  distance  between  New- York  and  New-Orleans,  following  the 
track  of  the  telegraph  lines,  is  about  2,000  miles,  and  may  somewhat 
exceed  it." 

One  important  function  of  the  electric  telegraph,  although 
previously  referred  to,  is  not  likely  to  be  duly  appreciated  by 
many  readers.  *  The  electric  current  not  only  conveys  a  mes- 
sage from  one  distant  point  to^  another,  but,  like  a  skilful 
letter-carrier,  it  can  be  made  simultaneously  to  drop  copies  of 
the  same  at  the  intermediate  stations  through  which  it  passes. 
This  is  done  by  putting  the  instruments  at  each  station  in  the 
general  circuit.  To  illustrate  our  meaning :  The  Congression- 
al reports  put  in  the  office  at  Washington  are  usually  received 
simultaneously  in  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  New- York; 
and  all  that  is  necessary,  at  the  intermediate  stations,  is  for  an 
operator  or  clerk  to  be  present  and  receive  the  message  as  it 
is  developed  on  paper  by  the  instruments.     Thus,  also,  the 


THE  ELECTKIC  TELEGRAPH. 


91 


usual  practice  in  supplying  the  press  of  Buffalo,  about  five 
hundred  miles  from  New- York,  and  at  intermediate  places, 
such  as  Albany,  Utica,  Syracuse,  Kochester,  &c,  is  to  put  the 
line  in  a  continuous  connection  with  the  intervening  instru- 
ments, forming  parts  of  the  grand  circuit.  Hence,  the  same 
commercial  and  general  news  is  read  off  simultaneously  at 
every  office  on  the  entire  route.  The  news  for  the  press  in 
that  direction  is  usually  sent,  within  certain  hours,  twice  a  day, 
and  charged  for  at  so  much  per  week  for  each  paper  on  the 
line  receiving  it.  This  facility  of  taking  drop  copies  at  inter- 
mediate stations,  however,  causes  important  news  to  become 
known  to  a  greater  number  of  persons,  and  renders  its  con- 
cealment more  difficult.  ? 

#Owing  to  the  want  of  experience,  and  limited  command  of 
capital,  the  first  lines  were  very  imperfectly  constructed.  The 
best  modes  of  insulating  wires  on  poles  had  not  been  de- 
vised. The  timber  employed  was  small  and  faulty.  The 
consequence  was  that  many  of  the  early  lines  soon  required 
expensive  repairs,  or  had  to  be  partially  reconstructed.  And 
up  to  the  present  period,  few  of  them  have  been  built  in 
a  manner  to  secure  the  greatest  durability  and  perfection 
of  insulation.  The  actual ,  cost  of  the  best  of  them  has 
not  exceeded  $200  per  mile.  To  build  a  line  in  the  best 
manner  to  render  it  permanent  and  free  from  interruption, 
would  probably  cost  from  $400  to  $500  per  mile.  Such 
a  line  would  not  exceed  about  one-twentieth  the  cost  of  a 
good  railroad.*  A  great  central  national  line,  conducted  in 
the  best  manner,  to  connect  New- York  and  New  Orleans  in 
daily,  speedy,  and  reliable  communication,  is  much  needed. 
Such  an  enterprise  would  be  sufficiently  national  in  its  charac- 
ter, to  deserve  the  liberal  patronage  of  the  government.  Such 
a  line,  constructed  so  as  to  render  interruption  from  any  cause 
next  to  impossible,  would  pay  well  as  an  investment.  •  The 
irregularity  attending  communication  with  New-Orleans,  and 
especially  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  is  so  great,  that  a  great 
many  merchants,  who  would  otherwise  correspond  regularly. 


92  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

are  now  deterred  from  doing  WO*  At  trie  present  time,  the  va- 
rious telegraph  lines  in  operation  are  worked  by  the  three  in- 
struments previously  referred  to,  viz.  Morse's,  House's,  and 
Bain's.  The  lines  have  been  built  and  are  owned  by  various 
joint-stock  companies,  estimated  at  between  twenty  and  thirty. 

The  plan  proceeded  upon  by  Professor  Morse  and  his  asso- 
ciates, was,  to  dispose  of  the  right  to  companies  for  half  of  the 
nett  receipts.  In  other  words,  a  line  being  estimated  to  actu- 
ally cost  $150,000,  was  assumed  to  be  worth  $300,000.  The 
first  sum  being  paid  up  by  subscribers,  they  would  receive 
stock  for  that  amount,  while  an  equal  or  duplicate  amount  of 
stock  would  be  isssued  to  the  patentees.  When  dividends 
were  earned,  they  would  be  divided  on  the  $300,000  assumed 
capital.  Mr.  Bain  acted  on  the  same  principle,  only  that  he 
received  one  third  of  stock  on  the  amount  subscribed,  and  on 
minor  routes  even  less.  Mr.  House  in  some  cases  proceeded 
on  a  similar  plan,  while  in  others,  as  in  the  New- York  and 
Philadelphia  House  line,  he  sold  out  his  patent-right  to  the 
party  who  built  it ;  and  this  party  has  since  sold  out  to  others. 

In  Prussia  it  has  been  determined  to  carry  the  principal 
telegraph  lines  under  ground  in  gutta  percha  tubes ;  and  it  is 
said  that  it  can  be  effected  at  an  expense  of  only  about  £40 
(about  $200)  per  mile.  This  estimate  we  believe  to  be  far  too 
low.  There  will  be,  no  doubt,  many  difficulties  experienced 
in  attempting  to  work  long  lines  under  ground,  not  the  least 
of  which  will  be  in  finding  and  repairing  breaks  when  they 
occur. 

In  France,  it  is  said,  after  much  discussion  and  consulta- 
tion, they  have  determined  to  carry  the  wires  on  poles. 

In  building  a  permanent  line,  the  time  may  arrive  when  it 
will  be  found,  in  the  long  run,  most  economical  to  adopt  erec- 
tions of  iron-rods  (or  poles),  secured  in  blocks  of  stone,  and 
well  braced.  Such  a  line  would  stand  as  a  permanent  struc- 
ture in  all  seasons,  and  might  be  made  to  last  over  a  century. 

At  an  early  period,  Professor  Morse  disposed  of  interest  in 
his  patent  to  other  parties.  Among  others  who  became  part- 
ners in  his  patent,  were  Mr.  Amos  Kendall,  of  Washington, 
and  who  also   became  his  attorney,   Mr.  F.  O.  J.   Smith,  of 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  93 

Maine,  Mr.  Alfred  Yail,  of  New  Jersey,  and  Leonard  D.  Gale, 
of  Washington.  The  latter  party,  we  understand,  has  since 
parted  with  his  interest. 

In  these  arrangements,  Professor  Morse  has  only  retained 
one-fourth  part  of  his  patent  in  his  own  right,  and  hence  re- 
ceives one-eighth  of  the  net  dividends  of  the  principal  lines 
worked  under  his  patent  claims.  It  is  said  that,  even  under 
this  arrangement,  his  revenue  has  been  quite  large,  it  having 
placed  him  in  very  independent,  if  not  wealthy  circumstances. 

As  before  stated,  Mr.  F.  0.  J.  Smith  constructed  and  be- , 
came  chief  owner  of  the  Morse  line  from  New- York  to  Boston ; 
and,  we  believe,  also  the  Morse  line  thence  to  Portland,  Maine, 
exclusively.  The  management  of  these  two  lines,  by  Mr. 
Smith,  was  such  as  to  give  great  dissatisfaction  to  the  press 
and  to  the  public ;  and  also  to  the  other  joint-proprietors  of 
the  Morse  patent,  including  Professor  Morse  himself. 

The  disagreement  finally  became  so  great  that  Messrs. 
Kendall  and  Morse  sued  Mr.  Smith  for  large  claims,  alleged 
to  be  due  under  pre-existing  contracts.  The  case  is  at  present 
in  fierce  litigation. 

^The  cost  of  constructing  lines  varies  very  materially  ac- 
cording to  the  nature  of  the  country  through  which  they  pass. 
The  expense  is  greatly  influenced  by  the  price  of  labor,  and 
intervening  water-courses  and  inlets,  which  have  to  be  crossed. 

To  arrive  at  an  approximation  of  the  amount  of  capital  in- 
vested in  all  the  telegraph  lines  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  let  us  assume  their  total  length  to  be  12,000  miles. 
Exclusive  of  stock  issued  to  patentees,  the  average  cost  of  all 
the  lines,  including  instruments,  may  be  set  down  at  about 
$175  to  $200  per  mile.  Twelve  thousand  miles,  at  $200  per 
mile,  makes  an  aggregate  of  $2,400,000.  If  we  add  one-third 
more  for  the  use  of  patents,  we  shall  have  a  representative 
capital  of  $3,200,000  for  the  entire  cost  of  the  present  tele- 
graph lines  on  this  continent,  r 

I  The  amount  of  dividends  declared  by  the  different  lines 
has  varied  very  much.  On  some  they  have  been  very  large ; 
while  on  others,  where  repairs  have  been  heavy,  they  have 
been  small.     The  largest  have  been  made  on  the  Morse  New- 


94  HISTORICAL   SKETCH  OF 

York  and  Buffalo,  and  on  the  O'Keilly  line  from  Philadelphia 
to  Pittsburg  and  Cincinnati.  The  heaviest  have  reached  from 
16  to  25  per  cent,  per  annum,  while  some  have  been  as  low  as 
4  per  cent. 

The  Washington  lines  have  done  well,  and  the  earnings  of 
the  Morse  line  from  New- York  to  Washington  have  been  large ; 
but  much  of  its  income  for  the  past  year  or  two  was  spent  in 
rebuilding  the  line,  and  keeping  up  communication  across  the 
Hudson  river.**  The  Washington  and  New  Orleans  Morse  line 
has  always  done  a  good  business  when  at  work ;  but  it  has 
been  very  liable  to  interruption  from  the  falling  of  trees  in  the 
Southern  pine  forest  through  which  it  passes,  and  from  the 
frequency  of  thunder-storms.* 

*A11  the  lines  between  New-York  and  Boston  have,  as  a 
general  thing,  done  well.  The  Bain  Eastern  line  has  succeeded 
well,  under  excellent  management ;  and  being  the  only  con- 
necting link  with  the  lines  leading  from  Portland  to  Halifax, 
by  which  the  New- York  associated  press  receive  the  foreign 
news  brought  by  steamers  to  that  port,  adds  materially  to 
their  other  receipts.  '  Like  all  other  kinds  of  business,  the 
relative  earnings  of  different  companies  depend  very  much 
upon  the  skill  and  judgment  with  which  they  are  managed. 

Few  of  them  ever  publish  to  the  world  regular  reports ;  and 
so  far  no  telegraph  stock  has  appeared  on  the  brokers'  books, 
nor  has  it  been  bought  and  sold  at  the  stock  exchange. 

Stockholders  would  be  benefited  if  telegraph  companies, 
like  other  leading  corporations,  would  make  public  annual, 
or  semi-annual  reports,  by  which  outsiders  could  arrive  at 
some  conclusion  with  regard  to  the  intrinsic  value  of  the 
shares  appertaining  to  each  line. 

•  The  most  frequent  causes  of  interruption  to  telegraph  com- 
munication, in  this  country,  arises  from  storms  and  sleet  in 
winter  ;  and  from  thunder-storms  in  summer.  * 

It  is  believed  that  interruption  from  atmospheric  electricity 
can  be  prevented  by  extending  a  wire  on  top  of  the  poles  the 
whole  length  of  the  line,  with  ground  connections,  at  suitable  in- 
tervals, which  would  convey  the  aerial  electricity  to  the  earth, 
and  leave  the  other  wires  beneath  it  free  from  interruption. 


THE  ELECTKIC  TELEGKAPH.  95 

All  the  companies  between  the  principal  places  have  two  wires 
on  the  same  poles,  and  in  some  cases  three  and  four. 

The  superintendent  of  the  Washington  and  New  Orleans 
line,  discovered  while  at  the  south,  during  warm  summer 
weather,  however  clear  the  atmosphere,  that,  as  the  sun  rose 
and  advanced  to  the  zenith,  the  uppermost  wire  of  the  two 
employed,  would  become  deranged  by  the  influence  of  atmos- 
pheric electricity.  He  then  reversed  the  wires,  placing  the 
lower  wire  at  top,  and  the  other  beneath,  and  yet  found  this 
lower  wire  would  work,  while  the  upper  one  was  interrupted. 
This  fact  has  suggested  to  our  mind,  that  if  an  upper  wire  were 
given  up  to  atmospheric  electricity,  with  ground  connections, 
that  all  beneath  it  would  be  free  of  interruption  from  this 
cause. 

#At  present,  each  company  employs  men,  at  suitable  distan- 
ces, to  look  after  the  condition  of  the  wires.  In  the  thickly 
populated  country  of  the  north,  these  guardsmen  are  placed  at 
long  intervals ;  it  may  be  of  forty,  fifty,  or  one  hundred  miles 
apart.  On  lines  passing  through  the  dense  southern  forests, 
it  has  been  found  necessary  to  employ  them  at  intervals  of 
about  every  twenty  miles,  and  to  make  it  their  duty  to  tra- 
verse and  examine  the  lines  frequently,  and  especially  during 
or  after  storms.  The  expense  of  guarding  and  repairing  lines 
varies  materially,  according  to  circumstances,  and  differs  with 
each  line;  but  forms  the  largest  item  with  all.>^ 


CHAPTEK  XL 

EXPENSE  OF  BUILDING  AND  OPERATING  THE  LINES. 

The  local  expenses  at  jthe  stations,  or  offices,  vary  according  to 
circumstances  or  legalities.  A  large  expense  arises  from  the  use 
of  acids,  and  the  decomposition  of  metallic  zinc,  in  the  batteries. 
From  some  data  gathered  from  inquiries  made  in  the  proper  quar- 
ter, it  is  estimated  that  the  zinc  cups  employed  in  the  batteries 
average  about  twenty-five  to  thirty  for  every  one  hundred  miles 
of  telegraph  wires  throughout  the  United  States.  On  routes 
where  there  are  two  or  three  separate  telegraph  lines,  under  dif- 
ferent patents,  the  number  of  zinc  cups  required  will  be  double 
and  treble  the  quantity  named ;  but  on  some  single  routes,  with 
small  stations,  the  quantity  is,  of  course,  much  less.  But,  for 
the  sake  of  calculation,  we  will  assume  that  the  average  is 
thirty  to  the  hundred  miles.  Now,  assuming  the  entire  length 
of  lines  to  be  12,000  miles :  to  work  them  will  require  the  use 
of  3,600  cups.  Each  zinc  cup  weighs  from  2  to  2|  lbs.  If 
we  take  the  latter  estimate,  the  weight  of  the  3,600  cups,  will 
amount  to  9,000  lbs  of  metallic  zinc.  These  zinc  cups  under- 
go total  decomposition,  and  have  to  be  entirely  replaced  with* 
new  cups  every  six  months ;  hence,  for  the  year,  the  consump- 
tion of  metallic  zinc  will  be  18,000  lbs,  which  at  8  cents  per  lb, 
gives  only  an  aggregate  cost  of  $1,440  per  annum.  Some  com- 
panies renew  their  cups  more  freely ;  and  if  we  add  the  ex- 
pense of  transporting  the  cups,  it  is  likely  the  whole  consump- 
tion of  metallic  zinc,  may  reach  $2,500  to  $3,000  per  annum. 
The  next  heaviest  expense  connected  with  the  working  of 
the  batteries,  arises  from  the  consumption  of  nitric  acid.  This 
is  poured  into  the  porcelain  cups,  in  which  are  placed  the  slips 
of  platina  foil.     Nitric  acid,  of  best  quality,  costs  about  11 


THE  ELECTKIC  TELEGRAPH.  97 

cents  per  lb.  It  takes  about  1  lb.  to  every  eight  porcelain 
cups,  or  about  12 J  pounds  to  every  100  cups.  Now,  as  we 
have  shown  that  3,600  zinc  cups  are  required,  hence,  to  work 
them,  they  require  an  equal  number  of  porcelain  cups.  Thus, 
to  fill  them  once,  for  operation,  will  require  about  450  lbs.  of 
nitric  acid,  which  at  11  cents  per  lb.,  will  cost  $49  50.  This 
acid  loses  its  power  and  requires  to  be  entirely  renewed  about 
twice  a  month  in  the  main  batteries,  and  daily  in  small  local 
batteries,  of  only  two  or  three  cups  each.  Hence  the  con- 
sumption will  cost,  for  all  the  lines,  $1,188  per  annum,  which 
may  be  considered  a  low  estimate.  Taking  wastage  and  ex- 
pense of  transportation  into  account,  it  is  possible  the  amount 
may  reach  from  $1,500  to  $2,000  per  annum. 

The  next  expense  is  that  of  sulphuric  acid ;  but  as  it  is 
only  used  in  small  proportions,  and  differs  in  strength  and 
quantity  used  by  each  battery,  we  cannot  arrive  at  a  probable 
estimate.  As  it  only  costs  6  or  8  cents  per  lb.,  and  its  value 
is  trifling,  in  proportion  to  that  of  the  nitric  acid,  we  will  pass 
it  over.  To  each  battery  of  100  cups,  six  lbs.  of  quicksilver  or 
mercury  is  employed,  to  rub  over  the  zinc  cups,  for  the  purpose 
of  causing  them  to  resist  decomposition  by  the  action  of  the 
acid.  The  mercury  costs  about  $1  25  per  lb.,  and  if  six  lbs. 
per  100  cups  per  annum  be  employed,  it  will  cost  $7  50  per 
100  cups,  or  $370  per  annum.  If  we  add  incidental  expenses, 
the  amount  may  reach  $500  to  $600  per  annum. 

The  aggregate  cost  of  'materials  consumed  in  working  all 
the  telegraph  lines  on  the  continent  for  one  year,  may  be 
summed  up  about  as  follows,  viz: : 

Metallic  Zinc,  say $3,000 

Nitric  Acid,         .         .         .         .         .         .  2,000 

Mercury  or  Quicksilver,         ....  600 

Breakage,  Wastage,  &c,      .         .         .         .  500 


$0,100 


By  this  statement,  it  will  be  seen  at  what  comparatively 
small  expense  of  materials,  the  electric  fluid  is  daily  sped  to  all 


98  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

parts  of  this  vast  country.     Further  improvements  will  likely 
reduce  the  present  cost  of  materials. 

%  The  offices  in  New- York  employ  on  an  average  four  young 
men  in  each,  as  operators  and  clerks.  Those  acting  as  clerks 
are  generally  also  capable  of  writing  with  the  instruments.  In 
country  offices,  or  in  places  of  small  note,  one  or  two  operators 
are  sufficient.  The  wages  paid  for  their  services  differ  in  dif- 
ferent offices.  The  chief  operator  receives  the  highest  wages — 
varying,  probably,  from  $1,000  to  $1,200  per  annum.  Some 
companies  also  employ  a  person  known  as  the  superintendent 
of  their  lines,  who  has  the  immediate  control  and  supervision 
of  the  whole.  It  is  customary  with  most,  if  not  all  the  offices, 
when  the  operators  have  reached  the  hour  for  closing,  or  have 
finished  their  day's  work,  if  required  by  the  press  or  other 
parties  to  keep  open  for  a  longer  period,  to  charge  those  giv- 
ing the  order  extra  for  their  services.  As  two  have  to  sit 
up  in  each  office,  the  usual  charge  is  50  cents  per  hour 
for  each  person,  or  $1  per  hour  for  each  office.  The  offices 
in  New- York  manage  the  delivery  of  their  own  messages. 
For  this  purpose  they  employ,  on  an  average,  about  five  boys 
each,  for  twelve  offices,  making  an  aggregate  of  about 
sixty  boys.  The  wages  paid  these  boys  is  from  two  to  three 
cents  for  each  despatch  delivered,  if  below  Canal  street,  or 
within  about  a  mile  from  the  offices.  If  beyond  that  dis- 
tance, or  after  night,  the  charge  is  12 \  cents  for  each  despatch. 
If  in  distant  parts  of  Brooklyn  or  Williamsburg,  the  charge 
is  25  cents.  Each  boy  carries  a  small  book  or  register.  The 
envelope  containing  the  message  is  endorsed  with  the  address 
of  the  party  to  whom  it  is  directed,  and  the  name  of  the  office 
at  which  it  was  received.  The  time  at  which  it  was  received 
is  inserted  over  the  message,  and  within,  the  place  from  whence 
it  came,  with  the  date,  &c. 

When  the  boy  delivers  the  despatch,  the  recipient  is  re- 
quested to  write  his  name  and  residence  in  the  boy's  book, 
and  the  precise  time  at  which  he  delivered  it.  These  books 
must  always  be  produced  at  the  office  when  called  for. 

Besides  the  help  previously  referred  to,  many  of  the  offices 


THE  ELECTKIO  TELEGKAPH.  99 

employ  what  may  be  termed  a  battery  man,  whose  duty  it  is, 
every  night,  to  remove  the  zinc  cups  from  the  acid  cells  or 
cups,  and,  after  cleansing  them  in  clear  water,  to  set  them  by 
until  they  are  required  for  use  next  day.« 


CHAPTER  XII. 

STATISTICAL  AND  OTHER  INFORMATION  REGARDING  THE  OPE- 
RATIONS OF  SEVERAL  LEADING  LINES,  SUPPLIED  BY  THE 
OPERATORS,  CLERKS,  AND  SUPERINTENDENTS  ATTACHED  TO 
THEM,  IN  REPLY  TO  THE  FOLLOWING  INQUIRIES. 

1.  What  is  the  greatest  distance  from  which  electric  messages 
are  actually  transmitted  ? 

2.  What  are  the  tariffs  of  transmission  ? 

3.  What  classes  of  dispatches  are  entitled  to  precedence  ? 

4.  What  is  the  average  number  of  words  (accidents  apart) 
which  are  transmitted  along  a  single  wire  per  minute?  If 
the  different  telegraphs  differ  in  their  rate  of  transmission, 
state  it  ? 

5.  At  what  rate  can  dispatches  which  arrive  in  telegraph 
cipher,  such  as  Morse's  and  Bain's,  be  reduced  to  ordinary 
writing  ? 

6.  What  quantity  of  telegraphic  matter  forms  an  average 
per  day  ? 

7.  Give  examples  of  days  on  which  you  receive  extra 
quantities  ? 

8.  To  what  extent  do  you  receive  telegraphically  the  de- 
bates of  Congress  ? 

9.  What  convention  exists  between  the  New- York  journals 
for  telegraphic  news  ? 

10.  To  what  extent  is  the  telegraph  used  for  commercial 
correspondence  ?  This  would  be  best  illustrated  by  the  ex- 
pense incurred  by  two  or  three  of  the  greatest  commercial 
houses. 

11.  Is  the  telegraph  extensively  used  for  social  corre- 
spondence ? 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  101 

12.  State  the  cases  in  which  there  are  competing  wires, 
and  illustrate  the  effects  of  competition  by  examples  ? 

13.  Are  interruptions  frequent,  arising  from  atmospheric 
electricity  ? 

14.  Or  from  other,  and  what  causes? 

15.  How  many  breaks  are  there  in  the  communications 
between  the  most  distant  stations,  &c.  ? 

16.  Is  it  practicable  for  correspondents  to  keep  the  subject 
of  their  dispatches  concealed  from  the  employees  of  the  tele- 
graph, and  is  this  object  often,  or  ever  practically  attained? 


Answers  to  the  foregoing  questions  made  by  Mr.  O'Reilly  at  his 
Telegraph  Line  Office,  180  Broadway. 

1.  The  actual  distance  from  which  messages  have  been, 
and  are  now  transmitted  on  this  line,  is  1,100  miles — from 
New- York,  to  Louisville.  To  do  this,  it  is  found  necessary  to 
place  two  batteries  in  the  circuit  at  distances  of  four  hundred 
miles  apart,  for  the  purpose  of  renewing  the  electric  current, 
part  of  which  escapes  from  defective  insulation  and  atmospheric 
causes.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that,  in  a  more  advanced  stage 
of  telegraphing — which  may  be  but  a  short  time  hence — that 
New  Orleans  and  New- York  will  be  placed  in  instantaneous 
communication  with  each  other*  To  enable  this  to  take 
place,  requires,  in  the  first  place,  a  line  substantially  built  and 
thoroughly  insulated.  It  may  be  remarked,  that  it  is  but  two 
years  since,  when  to  telegraph  three  hundred  miles  on  a  single 
or  unbroken  circuit,  was  considered  a  feat ;  now,  from  improve- 
ments made  since  then  in  telegraphs,  we  can  send  over  one 
thousand  one  hundred  miles — easier  than  we  could  three  hun- 
dred at  that  time.  In  our  Cincinnati  office,  two  years  ago,  and 
up  till  very  lately,  they  used  a  separate  battery  for  each  line. 
From  a  series  of  experiments  made,  one  single  battery,  of  no 
greater  strength  than  those  formerly  used,  now  works  eight 
distinct  and  separate  lines,  with  no  apparent  diminution  of 
strength,  and  at  a  great  saving  of  expense  to  the  office. 


102  HISTOKICAL  SKETCH  OF 

•  2.  The  tariffs  depend,  in  a  great  measure,  on  the  compe 
tition  which  the  lines  have   to  meet.     From  New- York  to 
Pittsburg,  the  rate  is  sixty  cents  for  ten  words,  distance  foui 
hundred  miles ;  ten  words  to  Cincinnati,  distance  seven  hun 
dred  and  eighty  miles,  is  but  seventy-five.    Owing  to  the  com 
petition  existing  among  four  or  live  lines  that  connect  Cincin 
nati  with  New- York,  by  adding  the  rates  and  distances  on 
three  or  four  of  the  lines,  it  would  give,  as  an  average : — That 
ten  words  of  a  message  (the  address  and  signature  of  sender 
and  recipient  are  not  counted  in  telegraphic  messages,)  are 
transmitted,  in  long  distances  of  over  four  hundred  miles,  at 
the  rate  of  one  cent ;  three  hundred  miles,  about  six  mills ; 
two  hundred  miles,  about  five  mills ;  one  hundred  miles,  about 
four  mills ;  and  lesser  distances  in  proportion.  .■ 

3.  Classes  of  messages  entitled  to  precedence,  are  govern- 
ment messages,  and  messages  for  the  furtherance  of  justice  in 
detection  of  criminals,  &c. ;  then  death  messages,  which  in- 
cludes cases  of  sickness  when  the  presence  of  a  party  is  re- 
quested by  the  sick  and  dying.  Important  press-news  comes 
next ;  if  not  of  extraordinary  interest,  it  takes  its  turn  with 
the  mercantile  messages. 

4.  Average  number  of  words  may  be  stated  at  twenty  to 
twenty-three  per  minute ;  a  higher  rate  could  be  obtained, 
but  as  nearly  all  operators  copy  from  their  instruments  and  re- 
duce messages  from  ordinary  writing,  the  above  is  considered 
rapid  enough — as  an  expert  operator  can  indent  his  Morse 
characters  on  his  register  faster  than  most  men  can  write  with 
a  pen  or  pencil. 

5.  The  messages,  as  quick  as  they  are  written  by  an  opera- 
tor at  the  extremity,  are  copied  at  the  other  extremity  by  the 
receiving  operator  on  a  printed  slip  of  paper,  prepared  for 
that  purpose ;  then  passed  from  the  operating  to  the  receiving 
room,  enveloped  and  sent  out  for  delivery.  So  that  no  delay 
need  take  place,  if  each  one  attends  to  his  duty. 

6.  That  is  a  question  that  cannot  well  be  answered  here  as 
regards  this  line,  as  we  are  at  the  extreme  point,  and  we  are 
not  one  of  the  feeders  to  the  line.  New- York,  Philadelphia, 
and  Baltimore   messages  for  the  West  and  South,  all  pass 


THE   ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  103 

through  the  Pittsburg  office.  From  the  last  report  of  the  line 
from  Louisville  to  Pittsburg,  presented  to  shareholders  by  the 
superintendent,  the  following  statistics  are  stated.  It  may  be 
mentioned  that  this  section  is  450  miles  long,  distinct  as  a 
property,  but  under  one  management. 

9  Statistics  of  the  year  1850 — Pittsburg  and  Cincinnati  Telegraph  Line. 

Number  of  words  transmitted 3,602,760 

Number  of  dispatches  recorded       ....  364,559 

These  are  exclusive  of  free  matter,  necessarily  large  at  all  times. 
Average  hours  of  labor,  fourteen  hours  per  day. 
The  recorded  dispatches  for  1850,  on  the  paper  of  the  registering 
instrument,  covers  a  length  of  1,704|  miles. 

Cash  receipts  at  the  different  offices  of  the  Pittsburg,  Cincinnati,  and 
Louisville  Telegraph  Company,  during  the  year  1850. 

Louisville       .         .         .  . $22,000  08 

Madison 2,155  99 

Lawrenceburg 292  60 

Cincinnati 18,970  97 

Dayton 2,727  55 

Springfield 631  37 

Columbus 3,403  49 

Zanesville           .......  1,628  36 

N.  Washington 72  37 

Wheeling 2,525  71 

Steubenville. 87808 

Pittsburg  .......  17,992  17 


Total  receipts  for  1850       ....    $73,278  74 

Record  of  Dispatches — 1850. 

Pittsburg 73,900 

Steubenville 5,020 

Wheeling 12,100 

N.  Washington .  242 

Zanesville 5,079 

Columbus 12,885 

Springfield 2,700 


104  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

Dayton 9,968 

Cincinnati 156,000 

Lawrenceburg 1,000 

Madison 10,325 

Louisville 74,660 


Total  number  of  entries  for  1850     .         .         .      363,879 

This  table,  of  course,  shows  a  double  entry — one  at  the  office  whence 
sent,  and  the  other  where  received ;  yet  the  record  as  given,  showing  as 
it  does  all  the  business  created  by  each  office  named,  also  shows  thereby 
their  intrinsic  value. 

7  and  8.  We  do  not  receive  Congressional  reports.  We 
are  not  in  communication  with  Washington. 

9.  The  rates  for  press-matter  on  this  line  are  as  follows : 

Per  Word. 

New-York  to  Pittsburg 3  cents. 

Philadelphia 1£ 

Other  dispatches  between  that  and  New- York  .         .  3 

New-York  to  Wheeling  .....  3 

Zanesville,  Ohio 3 

Columbus,  Ohio 3 

Dayton,  Ohio 4 

Madison,  Ind 4 

Louisville,  Ky 5 

Nashville,  Tenn. 6 

Memphis,  Tenn 6 

Jackson,  Miss 7 

Vicksburg,  Miss.     .......  8 

New  Orleans,  La 8 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 6 

Lancaster,  Penn. 2 

Harrisburg,  Penn 2 

Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg l£ 

Wheeling 2 

Zanesville  .......  2 

Columbus      ........  2 

Dayton 2 

Cincinnati .  2 

Madison 3 


THE  ELECTKIC  TELEGRAPH.  105 

Per  Word. 

Louisville       ........  3  cents. 

Nashville 4  " 

Memphis        ........  4  " 

Jackson 5  " 

Vicksburg 6  " 

«.  New  Orleans 6  " 

St.  Louis .  5  " 

Harrisburg         .......  1  " 

Lancaster       ........  1  " 

Other  dispatches  between  other  places : 

Per  Word. 

200  miles  or  under  .         .         .         .  .1  cent. 

500     "      or  over    300 2  cents. 

700     "  "500 3      " 

1,000     "  "  700 4      " 

1,500     "  "        1,000 5      " 

2,000     "  "        1,500 6      " 

♦10.  It  is  used  to  a  great  extent,  in  conveying  secrets  of 
rise  and  fall  of  markets ;  for  instance,  a  man  may  be  pur- 
chasing goods  in  New- York,  gives  his  reference  to  the  mer- 
chant— said  reference  being  perhaps  700  or  800  miles  away 
from  him — by  the  aid  of  the  telegraph  he  can  know  the  stand- 
ing of  his  customer,  even  before  the  purchase  is  completed. 
There  are  bankers,  brokers,  &c,  in  Wall-street,  that  receive 
and  send,  on  an  average,  six  to  ten  messages  per  day,  through- 
out the  year. 

11.  Yes,  to  a  great  extent.  It  oftentimes  occurs  that  a 
party  desires  to  "converse"  with,  another  300  or  500  miles 
off.  An  hour  is  appointed  to  meet  in  the  respective  offices, 
and  they  converse  through  the  operator.  I  have  known  in- 
stances of  steamboats  being  sold  over  the  wires — the  one  party 
being  in  Pittsburg,  the  other  in  Cincinnati.  Each  party  wrote 
down  what  they  had  to  say,  higgled  awhile,  and  finally  con- 
cluded the  sale.  Their  correspondence  was  filed  away,  like 
other  messages,  and  kept  for  reference,  if  ever  called  in  ques- 
tion. *  It  is  often  used  by  parties,  when  from  home,  correspond- 
ing with  their  families.     Sometimes  it  is  the  messenger  of  a 


106  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

woe,  deep  and  afflicting ;  and  anon,  that  of  heartfelt  pleasure. 
In  the  early  part  of  this  year,  the  Astor  House  of  New- York, 
and  the  Burnet  House  of  Cincinnati,  had  a  series  of  telegraphic 
parties.  An  account  of  one  of  them,  taken  from  the  Cincin- 
nati Gazette,  is  herewith  appended — the  parties  conversing 
being  about  750  miles  apart — about  twice  the  length  of  Ire- 
land. 

A  Telegraphic  Party. 

"  On  Friday  evening  of  last  week,  by  previous  arrangement,  the 
Astor  House,  in  New- York,  and  the  Burnet  House,  in  this  city,  had  a 
family  telegraphic  party.  They  assembled  respectively  in  the  office  of 
the  O'Reilly  line  in  each  city. 

"  They  talked  over  family  matters,  interchanged  congratulations, 
and  drank  each  other's  health,  spending  an  hour  in  electrical  and  spi- 
ritual intercourse.  As  the  spiritual  was  about  commencing,  the  opera- 
tors of  the  electrical  in  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg  intimated  their 
willingness  to  join  therein  ;  and  forthwith  orders  were  sent  to  the  Mo- 
nongahela  House,  at  Pittsburg,  and  Jones's  Hotel,  in  Philadelphia,  to 
furnish  the  needful  champagne.  It  was  done.  Cincinnati  then  asks — 
"  Are  you  all  ready  ?"  Pittsburg  answers — "  Glasses  charged."  Phi- 
ladelphia— "  Corks  just  popping,"  and  New- York  responds — "  Aye, 
aye." 

"  The  following  toasts  were  then  drank  : — '  The  O'Reilly  Telegraphic 
Operators — Our  thanks  for  exchanging  family  congratulations  between 
the  cities  of  Gotham  and  Porkopolis.'  To  this  toast  the  operators  made 
appropriate  responses,  thanking  the  Astor  and  Burnet  Houses  for  the 
champagne,  hoping  that  all  the  '  pain'  of  the  respective  families  might 
be  all  '  sham-pain' — and  concluding  with  the  following  toast :  '  The 
Burnet  and  Astor  Houses — May  the  skin  of  one  gooseberry  make 
"  night-caps"  for  all  their  enemies.'  Drank  with  three  cheers.  To  this 
sentiment  the  two  '  Houses'  replied  simultaneously,  and  so  highly  com- 
plimentary to  the  operators,  that  they  withheld  the  report,  regarding  it 
as  '  private  and  confidential.'     Here  ended  the  first  telegraphic  party." 

12.  Where  two  sharp  competing  lines  are  in  one  city, 
strenuous  efforts  are  made  by  both  to  be  "ahead,"  especially 
on  the  arrival  of  a  steamer  bearing  important  commercial  or 
political  news.     One  illustration  will  suffice. 


THE   ELECTRIC  TELEGEAPH.  107 

Some  time  back  the  Asia  arrived  at  Quarantine  about  8. 
P.  M. — was  detained  an  hour  by  the  health  officer.  The  agent 
of  the  New- York  Associated  Press  and  of  the  New-Orleans  Mer- 
chants' Exchange,  Mr.  Jones,  to  gain  but  a  few  minutes,  had  a 
boat  in  readiness  when  the  Asia  brought  to.  A  small  bag 
containing  the  latest  news  was  handed  over  the  steamer's  side, 
to  the  small  boat.  By  great  exertions  she  gained  New- York 
half  an  hour  ahead  of  the  Asia.  The  bag  was  opened — a  copy 
of  her  news  was  handed  to  us,  addressed  to  the  Merchants' 
Exchange,  New-Orleans,  signed  Jones — to  work  we  went.  It 
was  being  transmitted  over  the  wires  amid  the  thundering  of 
the  Asia's  cannon,  as  she  rounded  the  point ;  and  a  complete 
synopsis  of  her  commercial  and  political  news  was  received  in 
Louisville,  1,100  miles  in  the  interior,  before  the  ship  had  actu- 
ally reached  the  city.  I  may  add  that  the  telegraph  would 
be  more  extensively  used  than  even  now  by  the  mercantile 
community,  if  its  correctness  and  accuracy  were  improved. 
These  inaccuracies  arise  altogether  from  the  carelessness  of 
operators,  and  not  from  any  defect  in  the  medium  employed. 
These  annoying  drawbacks  would  nearly  all,  if  not  wholly  dis- 
appear, by  the  enforcement  of  a  more  rigid  discipline,  and  im- 
posing a  greater  responsibility  on  the  operators.  Whichever 
line  takes  the  lead  in  this  much  called  for  reform,  will  meet 
its  due  reward  from  the  public. 

13.  Interruptions  from  atmospheric  electricity  have  been 
greatly  reduced  of  late,  and  it  is  confidently  expected  that  they 
will,  at  no  distant  day,  be  entirely  overcome.  One  6f  the 
means  used  at  present  is,  by  putting  on  a  lightning  arrester 
near  to  the  recording  instrument.  This  arrester  is  formed  of 
a  little  glass  globe,  surrounded  by  a  semicircle  of  small  points, 
like  needles,  that  approach  quite  close  to  the  ball.  These 
points  carry  off  the  lightning  to  the  earth  before  it  reaches  the 
instrument,  causing  but  a  momentary  interruption.  The  dimi- 
nution of  interruptions  by  thunder-storms  has  been  reduced 
thirty  per  cent,  by  this  means  alone.     Other  causes  of  inter- 


108  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

ruption  are  accidental, — trees,  &c,  falling  on  the  wire  and 
snapping  it. 

15.  If  a  line  is  well  insulated,  it  will  work  500  miles  on  a 
single  circuit.  There  are  two  lines  in  New-York  that  work  to 
Buffalo,  the  distance  about  500  miles.  Some  lines  that  are  in 
bad  condition  work  but  300  miles,  and  others,  with  difficulty, 
260  miles. 

16.  Yes  ;  quite  practicable,  and  coming  more  into  use  every 
day.  *  One  eighth  of  the  dispatches  between  New-Orleans  and 
New- York  are  in  cipher.  For  instance,  merchants  in  either  city 
agree  upon  a  cipher ;  and  if  the  New-Orleans  correspondent 
wishes  to  inform  his  New- York  friend  of  the  prices  and  pros- 
pects of  the  cotton  market,  instead  of  saying,  "  Cotton  eight 
quarter — don't  sell,"  he  may  use  the  following : — Shepherd — 
rum — kiss — flash — dog.  The  one  message  will  come  as  cor- 
rect as  the  other,  and  be  wrapped  in  mystery  to  all  through 
whose  hands  it  may  pass,  and  be  only  intelligible  to  those  it 
is  intended  for.  I  have  many  times  seen  messages  written  in 
German  and  French  sent  over  the  wires,  and  it  was  "  Greek" 
to  all  in  the  office.  The  operators  are  not  very  fond  of  those 
kinds  of  messages  ;  they  prefer  the  English.  During  the  busi- 
ness season  at  New-Orleans,  a  great  many  messages,  written  in 
cipher,  are  received  in  this  city  on  the  eve  of  a  steamship  start- 
ing for  England.  They  are  mailed,  and  their  answers  may  be 
brought  back,  by  the  returning  steamship  to  Halifax,  to  New- 
Orleans,  couched  in  the  same  mysterious  language.  They 
traverse  the  wires  from  Halifax  to  New-Orleans,  impervious 
to  the  eye  of  the  most  curious.** 


Answers  from  Bairfs  Telegraph  Office,  29  Wall  Street,  New- York. 

1.  In  answer  to  your  first  question,  I  would  say  that  the 
greatest  distance  that  messages  are  transmitted  by  telegraph, 
without  rewriting,  is  on  the  lines  between  New- York  and  Buf- 
falo, a  distance  of  about  five  hundred  miles,  and  the  Morse  and 
Bain  lines  on  this  route  transmit  dispatches  daily,  without  a 
repetition,  and  on  a  single  circuit,  without  a  repeating  magnet. 


THE   ELECTEIC   TELEGRAPH.  109 

Several  lines  have  worked  a  longer  distance  by  the  use  of  re- 
peating magnets,  as  they  are  termed,  which  is  done  by  making 
an  electro-magnet  in  one  circuit  break  and  close  the  next  cir- 
cuit, making  the  same  vibrations  on  every  magnet  in  the 
second  circuit,  as  made  by  the  operator  in  the  first  circuit. 
Under  this  arrangement,  any  number  of  circuits  may  be  added 
on,  until  the  lines  reached  round  the  globe,  and  the  writing  in 
the  last  circuit  would  be  as  perfect  as  in  the  first.  Messages 
have  been  transmitted  in  this  way  over  a  thousand  miles,  with- 
out a  repetition. 

2a  The  tariffs  of  transmission  vary  materially  in  different 
sections  of  the  country.  It  would  be  difficult  to  arrive  at  an 
average  per  mile  throughout  the  United  States.  Every  line 
makes  ten  words  its  maximum  for  one  price ;  and  the  tariff 
from  New- York  to  Boston  is  twenty  cents  for  the  first  ten 
words,  and  two  cents  for  each  additional  word,  a  distance  of 
240  miles,*  while  the  tariff  from  New- York  to  Washington,  280 
miles,  is  fifty  and  five  cents.  Competition  has  done  much  to 
reduce  the  rates  on  every  route,  except  between  New- York 
and  Washington,  which  remains  the  same  as  when  the  first 
line  started.  The  tariff  from  New- York  to  Buffalo,  500  miles, 
is  forty  and  three  cents.  • 

3.  I  believe  the  rules  and  regulations  of  every  company 
give  precedence  only  to  the  press  and  police,  or  official  dis- 
patches. 

4.  The  difference  as  to  rapidity  between  the  instruments 
in  use,  is  but  little,  if  any,  taking  a  day  through.  The  House 
instrument,  I  think,  is  capable  of  transmitting  more  words  in 
a  minute,  than  either  of  the  others,  but  to  balance  it  a  great 
deal  of  time  is  consumed  in  adjusting  the  instrument,  as  the 
instruments  receiving  and  sending  are  required  to  run  alike. 
From  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  letters  per  minute,  is  prob- 
ably about  the  number  transmitted  in  ordinary  business  mes- 
sages, on  an  average.  The  "  fast  method,"  as  it  is  termed,  in- 
vented by  Mr.  Bain,  is  capable  of  transmitting  correctly  1,000 

*  Since  reduced  to  fifteen  cents  for  each  ten  words,  and  two  cents  for  each 
additional  word. 


110  HISTOKICAL   SKETCH   OF 

letters  per  minute,  but  the  process  of  preparing  the  message 
to  be  transmitted,  takes  quite  as  long  as  to  transmit  it  by  either 
of  the  instruments. 

5.  Dispatches  are  transferred  to  writing  as  fast  as  they  are 
received.  They  are  either  copied  by  the  operator  receiving, 
or  read  by  him  to  a  copyist  as  fast  as  received. 

6,  7,  8,  and  9,  I  suppose,  refer  entirely  to  the  New-York 
Herald,  and  which  you  can  answer  more  correctly  than  I. 

10/  The  telegraph  is  used  by  commercial  men  to  almost  as 
great  an  extent  as  the  mail.  This  can  be  better  illustrated  by 
the  number  of  messages  sent  and  received  between  cities, 
where  close  commercial  interests  exist,  during  the  hours  be- 
tween 10  A.  M.  and  5  P.  M.  For  instance : — There  are  trans- 
mitted daily,  between  the  cities  of  New- York  and  Boston,  be- 
tween 500  and  600  messages,  two-thirds  if  not  three-fourths 
of  which  are  transmitted  between  the  hours  above  named. 
I  know  of  some  houses  which  pay  from  $60  to  $80  per  month 
to  the  telegraph :  and  I  do  not  know  but  there  are  others  who 
pay  more.  The  amount  paid  by  a  commercial  house  is  govern- 
ed by  the  excitement  there  is  in  the  market,  of  the  particular 
article  they  may  be  dealing  in.  If  there  are  "  ups  and  downs  n 
in  the  market,  money  is  lavished  upon  the  telegraph  freely.  * 
11.  Many  dispatches,  of  an  entirely  social  character,  are 
daily  transmitted  over  every  line ;  and,  since  the  reduction  on 
many  of  the  routes,  they  form  a  very  large  portion  of  the  busi- 
ness. It  is  extensively  used  by  the  travelling  public,  who  dis- 
patch to  their  friends  their  progress,  &c. 

•  12.  There  are  competing  lines  now  in  operation  on  every 
important  route  in  the  United  States,  except  to  New  Orleans 
by  way  of  Charleston  and  Savannah.  The  effect,  on  some  routes, 
has  been  to  double,  if  not  treble,  the  business.  In  1849,  when 
there  was  no  competing  line  between  New- York  and  Boston, 
the  Morse  line  transmitted,  on  an  average,  between  two  and 
three  hundred  messages  daily,  while  the  average  now  transmit- 
ted on  the  three  lines,  is  between  five  hundred  and  six  hundred. 
The  same  ratio  may  be  applied  to  all  the  other  routes  where  the 
tariff  has  been  lessened  by  the  competition.  • 

13.  and  14.  Interruptions  of  a  few  hours'   duration  are 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  Ill 

quite  frequent  during  the  hottest  portion  of  the  summer  sea- 
son from  atmospheric  electricity ;  but  less  so  since  the  inven- 
tions of  several  ingenious  protectors  have  been  put  in  use. 
These  protectors  are  made  so  as  to  bring  several  sharp  points 
of  metal  connected  with  the  ground  as  near  as  possible  to  a 
plate  put  in  circuit  with  the  wires,  so  that  when  the  wires  are 
overcharged  with  atmospheric  electricity,  it  jumps  off  on  these 
sharp  points  and  passes  to  the  ground.  Interruptions  most 
frequently  occur  from  breaks  in  the  wires,  caused  by  hail 
storms,  or  the  prostration  of  poles,  wires  and  all,  by  the  fall- 
ing of  trees,  or  the  like. 

15.  I  do  not  understand,  from  this  question,  whether  you 
wish  to  know  how  many  times  communications  are  repeated 
between  distant  points,  or  how  many  times  lines  are  interrupt- 
ed. The  latter  I  could  not  answer ;  and  the  former  I  am  un- 
able to  state  positively,  but  believe  that  dispatches  are  repeated 
some  four  or  five  times  between  here  and  New  Orleans ;  there 
are  four  repetitions  between  this  city  and  Halifax,  and  four 
between  here  and  St.  Louis. 

Your  sixteenth  and  last  question  I  answer,  by  saying  that 
it  is  practicable  for  correspondents  to  keep  the  subject  of  their 
dispatches  from  the  operators  and  clerks — this  is  attained  by 
the  use  of  ciphers,  which  are  quite  extensively  used  between 
brokers  and  the  like,  both  for  the  purpose  of  concealment  and 
to  save  expense,  as  they  substitute  a  word  for  a  sentence.  I 
believe  this  is  principally  done  for  the  latter,  as  persons  using 
the  telegraph  must  care  less  about  having  their  business  ex- 
posed to  operators  and  clerks,  or  rather  are  better  satisfied  of 
the  fact  that  telegraph  operators  and  clerks,  from  their  con- 
stant handling  and  reading  of  messages,  become  as  it  were 
dormant  to  the  subject  mentioned  in  the  dispatch,  they  having 
no  interest  in  the  matter.  I  cannot  illustrate  this  fact ;  but  I 
know  it  to  be  one  from  experience.  During  the  past  four  years 
I  have  had  charge  of  one  or  more  lines,  and  never  as  yet 
heard  of  the  contents  of  a  dispatch  being  divulged. 

In  great  haste,  J.  Mc  Kinney. 

*  We  understand  that  the  Bain  line  between  New- York  and 


112  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

Boston  on  the  17th  of  April,  1852,  actually  transmitted  500 
messages,  besides  5,000  words  of  foreign  news,  for  the  Asso- 
ciated Press.  % 

Answers  from  House's  Printing  Telegraph. 

"1.  The  longest  line  we  have  is  about  1,000  miles — extend- 
ing from  New- York  to  Cincinnati.  Messages  are  transmitted 
that  distance  with  ease ;  and  no  doubt  we  shall  be  able  to  tele- 
graph direct  from  New- York  to  St.  Louis  as  soon  as  our  line, 
now  building,  is  completed. 

2.  The  tariff  is  published  complete. — (See  last  part  of  this 
work) 

3.  1st.  Government  (free).  2d.  Police.  3d.  Death.  4th. 
Press.     All  others,  in  the  order  received. 

4.  Thirty  to  thirty -five  words,  when  written  in  full.  A 
system  of  abreviations  used  in  news  messages — say  fifty  words 
per  minute.  The  proceedings  of  the  Democratic  State  Con- 
vention, in  the  fall  of  1850,  containing  7,000  words,  was  trans- 
mitted from  Syracuse  to  Buffalo  in  two  hours  and  ten  minutes ; 
which  was  at  the  rate  of  about  fifty-four  words  per  minute. 
There  is  one  rapid  operator  upon  our  Buffalo  line,  that  has 
written  365  letters  in  one  minute.  There  is  a  very  marked  dif- 
ference in  the  speed  of  the  different  telegraphs.  We  prefer  how- 
ever not  to  state  our  opinion,  fearing  those  who  are  interested 
in  other  systems  would  complain.     We  have  our  own  views. 

5.  Not  applicable  to  this  line ;  the  slips  being  delivered  as 
printed  by  telegraph. 

7.  On  arrival  of  steamers ;  any  sudden  rise  or  fall  in  any 
leading  article  of  merchandise. 

•10.  The  receipts  from  twenty  leading  commercial  houses 
doing  business  through  us,  average  $500  each  per  annum. 
We  have  a  few  customers  whose  telegraphing  will  amount  to 
$1000  each  per  annum,  t 

11.  It  is,  to  quite  an  extent. 

•12.  There  is  competition  on  nearly  all  the  routes.  Its  ten- 
dency to  reduce  rates  has  been  equalized  by  an  increase  of 
business  generally.  Between  New- York  and  Buffalo  the  re- 
ceipts of  the  Morse  line  in  1850,  when  there  was  no  competition, 


THE  ELECTKIC  TELEGRAPH.  113 

were  about  $49,000.  There  are  now  three  lines  upon  the  same 
route,  and  the  receipts  of  the  united  lines  in  1851  considera- 
bly exceeded  $100,000.  Competing  lines  to  a  reasonable 
extent  increase  telegraphing,  as  business  men  rely  with  more 
confidence  upon  having  their  messages  transmitted.  Two  lines 
upon  the  same  route  are  rarely  out  of  order  at  the  same  time ; 
and  as  the  lines  have  been  made  reliable,  telegraphing  has 
rapidly  increased.  Competition  between  New- York  and  Boston 
has  reduced  prices  altogether  too  low.  The  three  lines  have 
nearly  all  the  business  they  can  do,  and  sometimes  more  than 
they  can  do  well ;  yet  the  receipts  of  each  line  are  less  remu 
nerative  than  those  of  some  other  lines  which  do  less  work.* 

13.  A  heavy  thunder-storm  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a 
line  causes  interruption,  by  charging  the  wires  with  electricity, 
destroying  the  effect  produced  by  that  from  our  batteries. 

14.  Other  interruptions  occur  from  falling  trees,  moving 
buildings,  and  carelessness  on  the  part  of  the  people  in  the 
country  towns  through  which  our  lines  pass. 

15.  Our  system  requires  a  complete  circuit — way  stations 
forming  a  part  of,  not  breaking  the  main  circuit.  Copies  can 
be  dropped  through  the  way  offices. 

16.  It  is  practicable,  though  not  of  frequent  occurrence. 
Correspondents  often  receive  their  own  dispatches,  the  con- 
tents being  known  only  to  the  operator  writing  them  at  a  dis- 
tant station.  Half  an  hour's  practice  would  enable  a  person 
to  write  his  own  dispatches." 

By  the  slightest  inspection  of  the  wood-cut,  representing 
House's  Printing  Telegraph,  it  will  be  seen  that  it  has  keys 
arranged  in  front  like  those  of  a  piano,  with  the  letters  of  the 
alphabet  marked  on  them.  An  operator,  in  sending  a  mes- 
sage, merely  touches  or  depresses  them  with  his  fingers  like 
a  person  playing  a  tune  on  a  piano,  causing  the  letters  to  be 
printed  by  a  similar  instrument  at  the  opposite  end  of  the 
wire. 

The  following  are  the  press  charges  between  the  points 
named : 

On  the  reports  of  Congressional  proceedings  and  other 
news  from  Washington  to  New- York,  five  cents  per  word  up 


114  HISTORICAL   SKETCH  OF 

to  the  first  500  words ;  and  one-third  less  for  all  words  over 
500  and  nnder  1,000,  and  two-thirds  reduction  for  all  words 
over  1,000  and  up  to  any  quantity  above  that  number.  Be- 
tween Philadelphia  and  New- York,  the  House  line  charges 
one  cent  a  word  for  the  press. 

The  Morse  Washington  and  New  Orleans  Seaboard  Line 
whose  office  is  at  the  corner  of  Hanover-street  and  Exchange 
Place,  make  no  deductions  in  favor  of  the  press,  long  or  short, 
and  have  but  one  list  of  prices  for  all  messages. 

Each  of  the  three  lines — Morse's,  House's,  and  Bain's — 
from  New- York  to  Boston,  charge  the  press  one  cent  per  word 
on  all  news  messages,  of  whatsoever  length. 

The  lines  connecting  Boston  with  Halifax,  charge  the  As- 
sociated Press  at  a  fixed  rate  per  steamer,  for  all  messages  not 
exceeding  3,000  words. 

The  Canadian  lines  make  no  distinction  in  their  charges 
for  tolls  between  private  messages  and  those  for  the  press. 


Answers  to  Telegraph  Questions  made  by  Morse's  New-  York  and 
Buffalo  Line. 

1.  Messages  by  telegraph  have  been  actually  transmitted 
over  one  continued  circuit  through  1,500  miles  of  wire.  They 
are  sent  daily,  and  in  the  ordinary  business  of  this  line,  540 
miles  in  a  single  circuit,  without  any  re-writing. 

2.  Tariffs  of  transmission  have  no  certain  standard  for 
computation.  Competition  reduces  them  materially.  The 
average  estimate  may  be  as  one  cent  (halfpenny)  for  ten  miles 
on  local  business,  and  seven-tenths  of  a  cent  for  ten  miles  for 
through  business.  The  tariffs  annexed  to  the  list  answer  the 
inquiries.     (See  prices  at  the  end  of  this  work.) 

3.  Reports  for  the  press,  communications  relative  to  sick- 
ness and  death,  and  police  messages,  are  entitled  to  prece- 
dence. 

5.  When  intelligence  is  abbreviated,  reports  are  sent  at  the 
rate  of  2,000  words  per  hour ;  when  not  abbreviated,  about 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  115 

ten  words  per  minute.     I  have  sent  forty  messages  in  forty 
consecutive  minutes. 

4.  Morse's  or  Bain's  telegraph  cipher  can  be  and  are  re- 
duced to  ordinary  writing  at  the  instant  they  are  received — a 
copyist  writing  down  words  dictated  to  him  from  the  slip  of 
paper  by  the  operator ;  and  it  requires  a  skilful  and  rapid 
penman  to  keep  pace  with  the  telegraphic  transmission  and 
reading  off  by  the  receiving  operator. 

6.  Three  thousand  words  of  public  business  matter,  and 
three  thousand  of  reported,  and  about  one  thousand  words 
relative  to  line  business,  in  the  daily  adjustment  of  accounts, 
may  be  considered  a  fair  day's  work. 

7.  During  the  sittings  of  conventions,  or  elections,  or  the 
arrival  of  steamers,  often  from  2,000  to  8,000  words  are  re- 
ported. On  some  occasions  of  market  excitement,  the  private 
messages  are  nearly  doubled. 

8.  Debates  of  Congress  are  received  at  an  average  of  about 
4,500  words  per  day,  and  transmitted  at  the  rate  of  1,600 
words  per  hour. 

9.  Two  conventions  exist  between  the  leading  New- York 
press  (seven  morning  papers  now  forming  one,  and  two  or 
three  evening  papers  the  other),  who  employ  correspondents 
at  important  distant  points  to  collect  and  forward  the  news ; 
and  other  local  agents  to  receive  and  re-write  on  manifold 
paper  a  copy  for  each  paper  in  the  association,  distribute  the 
same,  and  re-send  the  same  news  to  the  press  at  other  points. 

*10.  The  telegraph  correspondence  of  two  or  three  private 
houses  we  could  mention,  amounts  to  about  $1,200  per  an- 
num. 

12.  Between  New- York  and  Boston,  and  New- York  and 
Buffalo,  and  south  to  Philadelphia,  there  are  three  competing 
companies — and  six  wires  for  each  route.  The  tariff  from 
New- York  to  Boston  has  been  reduced  from  50  to  20  cents 
per  ten  words  for  private  messages.  This  is  the  greatest  re- 
duction made  by  competition.  § 

13.  During  the  summer,  interruptions  occur  about  twice  a 
week  by  atmospheric  electricity.  Sometimes  the  irregularity 
of  current  thus  caused  is  entirely  overcome  by  the  adjusting 


116  HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 

skill  of  the  operator.  Sometimes,  during  thunder-storms,  it  is 
dangerous  .to  attend  to  the  instrument.  Interruptions  from 
the  falling  of  trees,  wearing  out  of  poles,  or  the  effect  of  vio- 
lent storms,  occasionally  occur. 

14.  Eight  or  nine  breaks  occur  between  New  Orleans  and 
Quebec,  when  messages  are  re-written.  In  good  weather,  only 
four  or  five  interruptions  occur  between  the  same  places. 

15.  The  concealment  of  the  subject  of  dispatches  is  practi- 
cable ;  and  although  (unless  sent  in  the  cipher  of  a  correspond- 
ent) they  are  necessarily  known  to  the  operators  and  copyist 
of  the  companies,  yet  instances  have  been  rare  in  which  pub- 
licity has  been  given  to  them. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SPECIMENS  OP  TELEGRAPH  SIGNAL  WRITING  AND  PRINTING. 

The  following  specimens  of  writing  exhibit  the  alphabets  of 
Swaim  and  Stienheil,  and  embrace  an  extension  of  the  princi- 
ples involved  in  each  (as  seen  at  p.  52  of  this  work),  so  as  to 
denote  all  the  letters  required  in  the  sentence,  composed  in 
their  respective  ciphers. 

The  reader  will  perceive,  at  the  slightest  glance,  that  the 
same  signals,  or  ciphers  for  letters,  can  be  changed  at  will,  to 
represent  other  letters  than  those  they  stand  for ;  and  both 
Morse  and  Bain  have  occasionally  modified  their  signal  alpha- 
bets, an  operation  applicable  to  all  kinds  of  cipher  writing. 

Communication. 

INDEPENDENCE  WAS  DECLARED  BY  THE   PEOPLE  OF  THE  UNI- 
TED  STATES  ON  THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY,  1116. 

Written  by  Swaim) s  Alphabetical  Ciphers. 
In        depen        den        c        e 

•i  ..i  ....  i  ..|.  i  ..|  ....  i  ..|  ...|  i 

was  dec  lar         ed 

••••i  •  i i  -i  i-  i  i--  •  -i  i--  i  •••• 

bi  t  he  peo  p 

i  I  •••-••  i  i .  i  i  i    i    i  i  i  •  i  •  •  i  i  i  i  • 

1        e       o  f  t  h        e  U 

I    I-     I       --I      I    I    I--     --I    I-     I    I    I      I       --I    I-- 
ni  ted  S  tat  es 


118  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

on  t  he  fo  u 


•  •I      --I       ..|    I-      I    I    I       I         III-    •;]      ...I    I- 
r  t  h  J  u  li  se 

•  i  |....|  i-  i  i  i   -i  --I  I-.  I  1.....1    |...  I 

yen  teen  h  u 

•  Ml.  i  ..j  -.1  |.  I    I  .-l     ill  ..|  I... 

nd  redand  se         v 

..|  I  |..  I  --I  ••••    !•••  I  -I  I  I- 

en  t        y  si  x 

i  .-I  --i  i--i    I-..-I  i  I  I  i 

Written  by  StienheiVs  Alphabetical  Dots  or  Signals,  in  two  rows 
varying  in  perpendicularity  as  well  as  in  numbers. 

Independence  was  dec  1  ared  bi  t 
he  peo  p  le  of  the  United  States  on 
the  fourth  Juli  seventeen  hundred 
a  nd     s  eventy    six 

Written  according  to  Morse's  Alphabet. 
In        de        p        en         den        ce 

w         as  dec        la         red 


b  y  the  peop  1 


eof  the         U        nited 

States         on  the  4 

t       h        o       f  J  u        1         y  1 

7  7  6 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  119 

Written  by  Davy's  and  Bain's  Alphabets. 
I  n  depe  n  de 

n  cew  as  decl 

aredby  t  he 


— 

p       e    o 

P 

1 

e 

0 

f 

t 

h 

e       U          n 

i 

t 

e 

d 

S 

t 

a 

t        e      s 

0 

n 

t 

h 

e 

4 

t           h 

0 

f 

J 

u 

1 

y 

1 

7 

7 

6 

Printed  by  House's  Electrical  Printing  Telegraph. 

INDEPENDENCE  WAS  DECLARED  BY 
THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 
ON  THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY  SEVENTEEN 
HUNDRED   AND   SEVENTY   SIX 


CHAPTEE  XIV. 

CONNECTION  OF  THE  PRESS  WITH  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPHS— EAR- 
LIEST COMMUNICATION  BETWEEN  NEW- YORK  AND  OTHER 
POINTS— CROSSING  THE  NORTH  RIVER— SYSTEM  OF  NEWS  RE- 
PORTING—COMMERCIAL AND  CONGRESSIONAL  CIPHERS— TEL- 
EGRAPHIC ANECDOTES  AND  INCIDENTS. 

*"The  first  telegraph  office  ever  opened  in  New- York,  was  in  the 
basement  No.  10  Wall  Street.  This  was  selected  for  the  re- 
ception of  messages  by  the  Morse  New- York  and  Washington 
line.  The  operating  office  was  in  Jersey  City,  where  it  remain- 
ed for  a  year  or  two  before  any  successful  attempt  was  made 
to  cross  the  North  Kiver,  which  at  all  times  has  caused  much 
annoyance  to  the  Southern  lines.  The  Morse  company,  to  en- 
able them  to  establish  a  permanent  communication  over  the 
river,  extended  a  line  from  New- York  up  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  Hudson  for  near  60  miles,  when  reaching  a  narrow  part  of 
the  stream,  with  great  elevation  of  land  on  either  side,  they 
stretched  a  wire  acoss  it,  and  from  thence  continued  their  line 
chiefly  on  the  western  bank  of  the  river,  southward,  until  it 
formed  a  junction  with  their  main  line  terminating  at  Jersey 
City.  They  had  previously  experimented  with  imperfectly  in- 
sulated wires  sunk  on  the  bottom  of  the  river,  but  they  were 
either  hooked  up  by  the  anchors  of  vessels,  or  failed  properly 
to  conduct  the  fluid.  The  long  extension  of  their  line  up  and 
down  the  river  also  failed  to  work  satisfactorily,  and  to  keep  it 
in  repair  and  working  order  was  found  very  expensive.  Some 
party  finally  suggested  the  use  of  Gutta  Percha  as  a  coating  for 
wires,  and  to  be  used  for  submarine  purposes.  It  was  tried  and 
found  to  answer  remarkably  well.  And  wires  coated  with  this 
material  are  still  used  as  means  of  communication  from  the 
Jersey  shore  to  New- York,  anchored  on  the  bottom  of  the 


THE  ELECTEIC  TELEGRAPH.  121 

Hudson,  and  in  places  twenty  or  more  feet  below  the  surface. 
Occasionally  one  is  drawn  up  on  an  anchor,  but  by  having 
two  or  three  wires  immersed  at  a  distance  from  each  other,  if 
one  is  injured,  resort  can  be  had  to  the  others. ,  This  discovery 
of  the  non-conducting  properties  of  Outta  Percha  was  an  im- 
portant step  in  the  progress  of  telegraph  lines,  and  all  the  con- 
ducting wires  about  telegraph  offices  are  coated  with  this  ma- 
terial. Its  first  application  was  of  American  origin,  it  was 
afterwards  adopted  in  England,  and  was  successfully  used  in 
combination  in  insulating  the  wires  stretched  across  the  channel 
between  France  and  England. 

We  have  used  the  same  substance  for  insulating  lightning 
rods  attached  to  our  dwelling  with  success.  A  stout  wire  or 
small  rod  may  be  coated  its  whole  length,  or  be  made  to  pass 
through  staples  coated  with  it.  The  coated  wire  may  have  a 
free  sharp  point,  secured  above  the  chimney  top,  and  after- 
wards carried  through  in  any  direction  to  reach  the  ground, 
or  nailed  by  strips  to  the  house,  while  the  lower  end  being  free, 
is  sunk  a  proper  depth  in  the  ground.  This  new  plan  will  be 
found  cheaper  and  better  than  any  other. 

House's  New- York  and  Philadelphia  Telegraph  Company 
crossed  the  Hudson  near  Fort  Lee,  about  ten  miles  above  the 
city,  by  erecting  high  masts  on  either  side,  and  stretching  a 
steel  wire  from  one  side  to  the  other ;  allowing  for  its  sag, 
the  length  being  about  a  mile.  The  most  frequent  interruption 
occurred  in  winter,  when,  from  the  accumulation  of  sleet  or  ice 
on  the  steel  wire,  it  would  break.  The  Bain  Company  also 
crossed  the  river  near  the  same  place,  by  a  somewhat  similar 
method.  Owing  however  to  frequent  interruptions  to  the  wires 
extending  over  the  river  in  all  forms,  all  three  of  the  lines 
found  it  necessary  to  keep  offices  and  instruments  in  Jersey 
City,  to  which  they  could  repair  when  necessary,  and  this  be- 
came quite  frequent  in  winter. 

It  was  early  in  the  autumn  of  1846,  when  the  writer  of 
this  handed  in  his  first  message  for  the  newspaper  press  at  10 
"Wall  Street.  It  contained  a  brief  account  of  the  launch  of 
the  U.  S.  sloop  of  war  Albany  at  the  Navy  Yard  Brooklyn,  and 
was  directed  to  the  Washington  Union. 


122  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

4  In  1847,  the  three  Morse  lines  then  in  existence  concen- 
trated in  Post's  Buildings,  corner  of  Hanover  Street  and  Ex- 
change Place.  The  following  year  they  scattered,  and  the  ten  or 
twelve  different  lines  now  occupy  offices  at  a  number  of  places ; 
but  which  are  chiefly  confined  to  "Wall  Street,  and  its  vicinity.  § 

Soon  after  the  first  lines  of  telegraph  were  put  in  opera- 
tion, it  became  apparent  that  they  would  necessarily  become 
important  media  for  the  transmission  of  news  for  the  press. 

At  the  commencement,  the  papers  proceeded  to  employ 
them  with  some  caution  and  hesitation ;  their  dispatches  were 
usually  brief,  and  as  much  condensed  as  possible.  The  ex- 
penses were  heavy,  and  only  a  few  papers  in  each  city  at  first 
employed  the  lines  to  any  material  extent.  Among  the  ear- 
liest and  most  liberal  patrons  of  the  telegraph,  were  a  few 
members  of  the  New- York  press. 

When  the  telegraph  was  set  to  work  between  New- York 
and  Philadelphia,  and  afterwards  had  progressed  as  far  south 
as  Kichmond  and  Petersburgh,  in  Virginia,  the  Mexican  war 
was  in  full  blast,  and  hence  its  utility  to  the  press  in  forward- 
ing army  news  was  such  as,  in  a  measure,  to  force  them  into 
its  employment. 

The  free  use  made  of  the  telegraph,  by  the  papers  referred 
to,  caused  others  to  enter  the  field,  and  finally  to  unite  with 
them  in  their  news  arrangements.  They  ultimately  adopted 
a  plan  of  running  a  daily  horse  express  between  Mobile  and 
Montgomery,  in  Alabama  (about  two  hundred  miles),  to  expe- 
dite the  news  to  the  southern  terminus  of  the  telegraph  line, 
in  advance  of  the  mail.  This,  however,  when  the  line  was 
extended  sufficiently  far  south,  was  abandoned. 

When  the  line  was  carried  east  to  Portland,  in  Maine,  the 
press  then,  which  comprised  all  the  chief  morning  papers  of 
New- York,  ran  an  express  from  Halifax,  on  the  arrival  of 
each  steamer,  to  Annapolis,  from  whence  a  steamer  conveyed 
it  to  Portland,  from  thence  it  was  conveyed  by  telegraph  to 
Boston  and  New-York.  The  leading  Boston  papers  also  par- 
ticipated in  this  arrangement.  The  cost  of  getting  the  news 
in  this  manner  averaged  near  $1,000  per  steamer.  When  the 
wires  reached  St.  John's  the  expenses  were  reduced,  and  final- 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  123 

ly,  when  they  reached  Halifax,  they  were  brought  down  to  the 
simple  cost  of  transmission,  or  to  about  $500  per  steamer. 
Mr.  D.  H.  Craig  was  the  special  agent  of  the  Associated  Press 
in  these  enterprises. 

At  the  outset  there  was  a  want  of  system  in  the  collection, 
transmission  and  distribution  of  telegraph  news  for  the  press. 
It  became  apparent  that  the  employees  in  the  telegraph  offices 
could  not  be  expected  to  collect  news  at  important  points,  and 
forward  it.  Their  occupation  confined  them  to  the  immediate 
duties  of  their  offices.  Hence  the  business  of  telegraphing 
brought  into  requisition  Telegraph  Eeporters.  We  were  among 
the  earliest  to  engage  in  the  occupation ;  we  commenced  with 
the  commencement  of  telegraphs,  and  when  the  whole  system 
was  new  and  imperfect,  and  in  a  manner  without  organization. 
We  early  invented  a  kind  of  short-hand  system,  or  cipher, 
intended  greatly  to  abbreviate  commercial  news  transmitted 
by  telegraph,  a  notice  of  which  appeared  in  the  Herald  in  1847. 
This  was  so  arranged,  that  the  receipts  of  produce  and  the 
sales  and  prices  of  all  leading  articles  of  breadstuffs,  provi- 
sions, &c,  could  be  sent  from  Buffalo  and  Albany  daily,  in 
twenty  words,  for  both  cities,  which,  when  written  out,  would 
make  one  hundred  or  more  words.  This  plan  of  abbreviation, 
or  some  modification  of  it  is  continued  on  the  same  route,  be- 
sides others,  to  the  present  day.  Copies  of  the  cipher,  either 
in  manuscript  or  in  print,  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  corres- 
pondents who  could  either  compose  or  translate  messages  for 
the  press.  Another  party  also  contrived  a  cipher,  but  on  an 
entirely  different  plan.  Our  first  effort  was  found  in  its  daily 
use  to  be  imperfect,  and  we  soon  prepared  a  second  edition. 
We  commenced  sending  and  receiving  commercial  reports  by 
it  early  in  1847,  between  New- York,  Baltimore,  Boston  and 
Buffalo,  and  subsequently  between  New- York  and  Cincinnati, 
New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis.  # 

Mr.  F.  O.  J.  Smith,  the  controller  of  the  New- York  and 
Boston  Morse  line,  established  his  charges  at  fifty  cents  for 
each  ten  words.  We  received  a  daily  report  from  Boston  of 
the  markets  over  his  line,  of  ten  words  in  our  cipher,  which, 
when  translated  for  the  press,  made  at  least  from  fifty  to  sixty. 


124  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

Mr.  Smith  thinking  we  were  getting  more  than  our  moneys 
worth,  decided  that  five  letters  constituted  the  average  of  En- 
glish words,  and  directed  that  all  the  letters  in  a  message  sent 
in  cipher,  should  be  counted,  and  the  whole  divided  by  five 
for  the  number  of  words,  and  charged  accordingly.  We  then, 
thinking  other  lines  might  follow  his  example,  set  down 
and  ransacked  Walker's  Dictionary  for  a  collection  of  short 
words,  and  in  no  case  as  far  as  practicable  did  we  select  one 
with  more  than  five  to  six  letters.  After  much  labor  we  had 
a  new  cipher  ready  for  the  press.  When  printed  it  made 
about  70  or  80  pages  octavo,  and  altogether,  the  edition  com- 
prising only  a  few  hundred  copies  for  private  use,  cost  us  a  con- 
siderable sum  of  money,  on  account  of  the  large  amount  of 
figure  work.  Mr.  Smith  soon  after  decided  that  three  letters 
made  an  English  word,  and  we  then  abandoned  receiving  mar- 
kets over  his  line  from  Boston,  but  supplied  some  of  the  papers 
in  that  city  for  some  time  with  New- York  markets  prepared  by 
it,  and  also  used  it  on  lines  leading  to  Baltimore,  Cincinnati, 
and  Buffalo.  We  have  also  made  another  manuscript  edition 
of  our  cipher,  which  we  have  still  on  hand. 

In  preparing  ciphers,  only  plain  English  words  could  be 
introduced,  and  so  arranged,  that  one  could  stand  for,  or  be 
interpreted  to  mean  half  a  dozen  others.  Thus  taking  flour, 
the  first"  word  beginning  with  a  consonant,  would  express  the 
condition  of  the  market,  the  second  also  beginning  with  a 
consonant,  but  with  a  different  signification,  would  indicate 
the  price,  and  the  third  commencing  with  a  vowel,  would  in 
all  cases  express  the  quantity. 

The  following  may  suffice  as  examples  of  ciphers  for  flour, 
wheat,  and  corn,  with  an  abbreviated  table  for  quantities.  From 
these  specimens  it  may  readily  be  seen,  that  a  similar  compila- 
tion of  words  beginning  with  consonants,  can  be  greatly  extend- 
ed, and  made  to  embrace  all  the  conditions  and  prices  of  every 
leading  article  of  commerce,  and  the  quantities  affixed  to  words 
beginning  with  vowels,  can  be  extended  to  much  larger  quan- 
tities. The  samples  annexed  are  very  brief  extracts  from  a 
complete  book  of  ciphers,  in  which  the  words  expressing  the 
conditions  of  the  market  for  each  article,  are  largely  multiplied ; 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  125 

such  as  those  beginning  with  B  in  alphabetical  order,  for  the 
state  of  the  flour  market.  The  words  commencing  with  G  are 
also  multiplied  to  express  its  prices.  The  words  beginning 
with  this  letter  are  sufficiently  numerous  to  give  the  prices  for 
all  the  different  kinds  of  flour,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest 
grades.  When  the  words  beginning  with  G  have  given  fig- 
ures for  a  particular  kind  of  flour,  beyond  which  it  is  not 
likely  to  sell,  a  heading  for  another  grade  is  introduced,  such 
as  "Michigan"  or  "Ohio,"  and  other  words  beginning  with 
0  continued  in  alphabetical  regularity,  to  express  the  prices 
appertaining  to  each.  The  same  course  is  continued  when  we 
come  to  wheat,  where  words  commencing  with  K  stand  for 
general  commercial  remarks,  and  those  beginning  with  D  for 
prices.  In  the  case  of  corn,  words  commencing  with  L  stand 
for  general  remarks  regarding  the  trade,  and  those  beginning 
with  F  for  prices.  In  each  case  it  is  apparent,  that  the  words 
can  be  so  multiplied,  as  to  embrace  all  general  remarks  applica- 
ble to  the  markets,  as  well  as  to  prices  and  quantities,  while 
quantities  in  all  cases  are  taken  from  the  table  of  words  be- 
ginning with  vowels ;  which  table,  also,  can  be  extended  so  as 
to  embrace  the  highest  amount  of  figures  necessary  to  be  used. 
Proper  words  can  also  be  employed  to  express  the  fractional 
parts  of  prices,  as  in  cotton  sterling  exchange,  &c.  The  foregoing 
conditions  were  carried  out  in  our  primted  book  of  ciphers. 


Examples  from  System  of  Commercial  Ciphers. 

FLOUR 

The  following  words  can  be  used  as  indicating  the  condition  of  the 
flour  market. 

Baal.  The  transactions  are  smaller  than  yesterday. 

Babble.   There  is  a  good  business  doing. 

Babe.  Markets  dull ;  buyers  do  not  enter  freely  at  the  higher  rates 
demanded. 

Baby.  "Western  is  firm,  with  moderate  demand  for  home  trade  and 
export. 

Bare.  Firmer,  with  fair  home  demand,  including  lots  for  export. 


126  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

Back.  Market  shade  firmer;  but  owing  absence  private  advices, 
buyers  and  sellers  do  not  meet. 

Bacon.   Dull,  but  if  any  thing  shade  firmer. 

Bad.  Market  for  common  and  fair  brands  of  Western  is  lower,  with 
moderate  demand  for  home  trade  and  export. 

Badge.  Fair  demand  for  Western  flour ;  market  without  material 
change. 

Badly.  Market  has  been  rather  heavy,  but  we  notice  no  material 
change  in  prices. 

Basin.   There  is  a  speculative  demand  at  better  prices. 

Button.   Market  quiet  and  prices  easier. 

Prices. — Pure  Genesee,  in  Albany. 
Cairn,      -    $4-37  Calx,       -    $5-06  Car,        -    $5*75 


Cajole,     ■ 

-      4-44 

Came, 

- 

5-12 

Carat, 

5-81 

Cake, 

■      4-50 

Camp, 

- 

5*18 

Carbon,  - 

5-87 

Calf, 

■      4-56 

Can, 

- 

5-25 

Card,      - 

5*94 

Calid, 

-      4-62 

Canal, 

- 

5-31 

Care, 

6-00 

Calif,       ■ 

-      4-69 

Cane, 

- 

5-37 

Cargo,    - 

6-06 

Calk, 

4-75 

Canoe, 

- 

5-44 

Cark,       - 

6-12 

Cale, 

■      5-81 

Canon, 

- 

5-50 

Carle, 

6-18 

Calm, 

-      4-87 

Cant, 

- 

5-56 

Carol, 

6-25 

Calp,       ■ 

■      4-94 

Cap, 

- 

5-62 

Carp, 

6-31 

Calve,     ■ 

5-00 

Capon, 

- 

5-69 

WHEAT. 

If  it  be  necessary  to  give  "half  cent"  quotation,  add  the  termina- 
tion of  "ed,"  as  "decayed,"  126£. 

Kale.   Dull,  but  prices  are  firm. 

Khan.   Firm,  with  good  milling  inquiry. 

Kata.   Supplies  of  Western  mixed  are  larger,  and  prices  heavy. 

Kaw.   Steady  and  firm. 

Keck.   Fair  demand ;  firmness  holders  checks  operations. 

Kedge.   Fair  milling  demand  for  prime. 

Keek.   Prime  Ohio  in  good  demand. 

Keel.   Moderate  inquiry  ;  market  steady. 

Keen.  Prime  in  fair  demand ;  market  firm ;  common  descriptions 
dull,  with  downward  tendency. 

Keep.   Firm,  but  dull. 


THE  ELECTKIO  TELEGKAPH. 


127 


Keg.   Held  above  the  views  buyers. 
Kelk.   Not  much  inquiry. 

Kell.   Demand  only  for  prime  parcels,  which  are  scarce,  and  held 
above  views  buyers. 

Kelp.   Wheat  easier,  especially  for  low  grades. 

Genesee. 


Dale, 

97 

Date, 

109 

Deal, 

121 

Dally,      - 

98 

Dater, 

110 

Dean, 

122 

Dam, 

99 

Datam,    - 

111 

Dear, 

123 

Dame, 

100 

Daub, 

112 

Debar,     - 

124 

Damp, 

101 

Dauber,   - 

113 

Debit,      - 

125 

Dance,     - 

102 

Dauby,    - 

114 

Decay,     - 

126 

Dank, 

103 

Daunt,     - 

115 

Decent,    - 

127 

Dare, 

104 

Davit, 

116 

Deck, 

128 

Dark, 

105 

Daw, 

117 

Decoy,     - 

129 

Darn, 

106 

Dawn,     - 

118 

Deem, 

130 

Dart, 

107 

Day,        - 

119 

Deep, 

131 

Dash, 

108 

Deaf, 

Prefixes. 

120 

Defer, 

132 

"re,r 

1     Jol. 

"de,"    i«J. 

Terminations. 

«ed,"    J. 

"able," 

1.              "ing,"     1}. 

"memy 

•     2. 

CORN. 

j8^~  See  instructions  as  to  Wheat. 

Label.   Is  steady  at  yesterday's  rates. 

Labor.   Good  inquiry. 

Lac.   Easier,  with  better  inquiry. 

Laced.  Held  higher ;  transactions  limited. 

Lacing.   In  brisk  demand. 

Lack.  Firm,  and  in  good  demand. 

Lade.   Very  firm. 

Laden.   Heavy,  owing  to  large  receipts. 

Ladle.   Good  request  at  better  prices. 

Lag.   Market  lower. 

Lagger.   In  fair  request. 

Laid.   Not  so  active,  but  without  change  to  notice. 


128 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 


Lain.  Foreign  news ;   unsettled  market ;  no  sales  of  importance 
made. 


Yellow  Corn. 

Fang, 

-      57 

Fault, 

- 

67 

Feign,      - 

•      77 

Farce, 

-      58 

Faun, 

- 

68 

Feint,       ■ 

•      78 

Fare, 

-      59 

Favor, 

- 

69 

Fell, 

•      79 

Farin, 

-      60 

Fay, 

- 

70 

Felt, 

80 

Farm, 

-      61 

Feal, 

- 

71 

Fen, 

81 

Fash, 

-      62 

Fear, 

- 

72 

Fence, 

•      82 

Fast, 

-      63 

Feast, 

- 

73 

Feud,       - 

•      83 

Fatal, 

-      64 

Fed, 

- 

74 

Fenny,     • 

■      84 

Fate, 

-      65 

Feel, 

- 

75 

Feral,       ■ 

-      85 

Fatly, 

-      66 

Feet, 

- 

76 

Ferny,     • 

•      86 

Prefixes. 

"  ex,"    delivery  within  a  few  days.        "  un,"    delivery  during  month, 
"in,"    delivery  during  next  month.       "re,"    £  a  1.  "de,"    \  a  \. 


"ed,"    \ 


Terminations. 
"able,"    1.  "ing,"    l£.  "ment,"    1  to  2. 


The  following  may  represent  quantities  of  any  article  sold 


Abot, 

100 

Admit, 

3,000 

Agage, 

10,000 

Abaft, 

200 

Adduce, 

3,500 

Aid, 

11,000 

Abuse, 

300 

Ache, 

4,000 

Aim, 

12,000 

Abase, 

400 

Acute, 

4,500 

AH, 

13,000 

Abash, 

500 

Adept, 

5,000 

Air, 

14,000 

Abate, 

600 

Adore, 

5,500 

Agast, 

15,000 

Abide, 

700 

Adorn, 

6,000 

All, 

16,000 

Able, 

800 

Adult, 

6,500 

Alert, 

17,000 

Abode, 

900 

Affix, 

7,000 

Allow, 

18,000 

About, 

1,000 

Afloat, 

7,500 

Alone, 

19,000 

Abut, 

1,500 

Aft, 

8,000 

Apart, 

20,000 

Abond, 

2,000 

Age, 

8,500 

Alude, 

21,000 

Adapt, 

2,500 

Agape, 

9,000 

Amaze, 

22,000 

If  we  send  the  following  words  by  telegraph,  "bad,  came, 
aft,  keen,  dark,  ache,  lain,  fault,  adapt  (nine  words,)  the  fol- 


THE   ELECTKIC   TELEGKAPH.  129 

lowing  will  be  the  translation :  "  Flour  Mo/rket  for  common 
and  fair  brands  of  western  is  lower,  with  moderate  demand  for 
home  trade  and  export.  Sales  8,000  bbls.  Genesee  at  $5  12. 
Wheat,  prime  in  fair  demand,  market  firm,  common  description 
dull,  with  a  downward  tendency,  sales  4,000  bushels  at  $1  10. 
Corn,  foreign  news  unsettled  the  market ;  no  sales  of  importance 
made.  The  only  sale  made  was  2,500  bushels  at  67c."  (sixty- 
eight  words).  On  some  lines  each  figure  used  is  counted  as  a 
word,  while  in  other  cases  they  are  only  counted  for  the  num- 
ber of  words  in  which  they  can  be  spelt. ,  In  translating  a 
cipher  message  many  terms  have  to  be  understood,  such  as 
bbls.,  bushels,  hhds.,  cask,  &c. 

*  When  competition  in  telegraph  companies  sprung  up,  the 
rates  of  tolls  in  many  directions  became  materially  reduced. 
Hence  between  New- York  and  Boston,  ten  words,  which  for- 
merly cost  fifty  cents,  or  five  cents  a  word,  are  now  for  private 
parties  forwarded  for  twenty  cents,  or  two  cents  per  word,  and 
all  newspaper  messages  are  sent  for  one  cent  per  word.  The 
sea-board  line  via  Washington  to  New  Orleans,  make  no  de 
duction  for  the  press,  and  charge  $2  40  for  ten  words,  and  four 
teen  cents  for  each  additional  word  on  through  messages 
When  the  first  line  was  opened  to  Washington,  the  charges 
were  high  and  no  deduction  allowed  on  dispatches  for  the  press 
hence,  it  became  necessary  to  form  congressional  ciphers; 
several  parties  attempted  to  arrange  them ;  among  others  was 
Mr.  Wills  of  Baltimore,  who  made  a  very  good  one.  We 
without  any  knowledge  (at  the  time)  on  our  part  of  the  plan 
upon  which  he  had  proceeded,  went  to  work  to  make  one  for 
our  own  use,  and  printed  it.  In  forming  this  cipher,  one 
word,  as  in  the  commercial  cipher,  was  made  to  express  many 
others.  A  few  samples  taken  at  random  from  our  printed  bookr 
will  suffice  to  explain  its  nature.  * 

Senate. 

Babble.    From  the  committee  on  finances,  reported. 
Babe.   From  the  committee  on  commerce,  reported. 
Babel.   From  the  committee  on  manufactures,  reported. 
Bacon.   From  the  committee  on  agriculture,  reported. 
9 


130  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

Bad.    From  the  committee  on  military  affairs,  reported. 
Badge.   From  the  committee  on  naval  affairs,  reported. 
Badly.   From  the  committee  on  militia  affairs,  reported. 
Baffle.   From  the  committee  on  public  lands,  reported. 
Beal.   Keported  a  bill  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Beak.   Reported  a  bill  authorizing  the  Post  Master  General. 
Beam.    Reported  a  bill  authorizing  the  Sscretary  of  the  Navy. 
Beard.   Reported  a  bill  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  War. 
Beat.   Reported  a  bill  authorizing  the  Attorney  General  to — 
Bed.   Reported  a  bill  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  State  to — 
Beer.   Reported  a  bill  authorizing  the  President  to — 
Basket.   The  resolution  from  the  House  was  taken  up. 
Baste.   The  Chair  laid  before  the  Senate  a  communication  from — 
Bath.   The  debate  was  continued  to  the  hour  of  adjournment. 
Bating.   The  Senate  asked  for  a  committee  of  conference  on — 
Battle.   The  Senate  agreed  to  a  House  proposition  for  a  commit- 
tee of  conference  on — 

Bawd.   Presented  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Legislature  of — 
Bawl.   An  interesting  debate  followed,  in  which  several  Senators 
participated. 

Resolutions. 

Bent.   Submitted  a  resolution  that  the  President  inform  the  Senate. 

Benumb.  Submitted  a  resolution  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
inform  the  Senate.  f 

Beray.  Submitted  a  resolution  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in- 
form the  Senate. 

Bereft.  Submitted  a  resolution  that  the  Post-Master  General  in- 
form the  Senate. 

Berth.  Submitted  a  resolution  that  the  Secretary  of  War  inform 
the  Senate. 

Besot.   Presented  the  credentials  of — 

Bestow.   Presented  the  credentials  of  his  colleague. 

Appropriations,  dec. 

Braze.   The  naval  appropriation  bill  was  taken  up,  and — 
Bread.   The  Indian  appropriation  bill  was  taken  up,  and — 
Brew.   The  army  appropriation  bill  was  taken  up,  and — 
Bribe.   The  bill  to  reduce  and  graduate  the  price  of  public  land 
was  taken  up,  and — 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  131 

Brick.  A  bill  in  relation  to  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point 
was  taken  up,  and — 

Bride.   The  river  and  harbor  bill  was  then  taken  up,  and — 

Motions. 

Cinder.   Motion  referred  to  the  committee  on  foreign  relations. 
Cimeter.   Motion  referred  to  the  committee  on  patent  office  and 
post-roads. 

Civil.   Motion  referred  to  the  committee  on  claims. 
Clad.   Motion  referred  to  the  committee  on  pensions. 
Claim.   Motion  referred  to  the  committee  on  military  affairs. 

Miscellaneous. 

Cave.  The  resolution  referring  the  President's  message  to  appropri- 
ate committees,  was  then  called  up. 

Cavern.   The  Speaker  called  him  to  order. 

Cavil.   The  bill  granting  bounty  lands  to  soldiers,  was  then  taken  up. 

Cellar.   Resolutions  came  up  for  consideration. 

Cent.  Several  messages  in  writing  were  received  from  the  President 
of  the  United  States  by  the  hands  of  his  private  secretary. 

Chaff.  Gave  notice  that  he  would  at  an  early  day  ask  leave  to  in- 
troduce a  bill. 

Chain.   Then  addressed  the  committee. 

Chant.   The  Journal  was  then  read  and  approved. 

In  transmitting  reports,  the  blanks  intervening  between  the 
cipher  word  and  the  explanation,  was  filled  with  the  actual 
name  of  the  member  connected  with  the  subject,  giving  his 
surname  only,  unless  either  house  contained  more  than  one 
party  of  the  same  name,  and  then  the  first  name  was  given. 

The  whole  of  the  cipher  words  were  arranged  in  alphabet- 
ical order,  both  for  the  Senate  and  House,  and  made  to  em- 
brace almost  every  variety  of  proceedings,  with  parliamentary, 
judicial,  diplomatic,  and  executive  phrases,  and  in  some  cases 
the  heads  of  debates  pro  and  con,  in  reference  to  well-known 
party  subjects.  We  prepared  a  cipher  for  legislative  proceed- 
ings, assisted  by  Wm.  Lacy,  Esq.,  of  Albany.  We  made  two 
manuscript  copies,  which  are  still  preserved.  The  proceed- 
ings of  the  long  sessions  of  the  New- York  legislature  of  1849 


132  HISTOKICAL  SKETCH  OF 

and  1850,  were  transmitted  by  it ;  but  the  reduction  of  tolls 
caused  by  the  competition  of  the  Bain  and  House  lines,  ren- 
dered their  further  use  unnecessary. 

The  press  at  first,  owing  to  the  expense,  would  not  agree 
to  receive  more  than  would  make  from  the  half  to  one  column 
of  the  Sun  newspaper.  We  then  supplied  them  under  a  weekly 
contract,  and  paid  our  own  tolls  and  reporters'  fees,  in  all  direc- 
tions. When  we  received  a  scrap  of  news  we  endeavored  to 
make  the  most  of  it  the  facts  would  justify,  by  writing  it  out 
as  full  as  possible.  Thus  often,  from  a  small  page  in  manu- 
script of  congressional  reports  in  cipher,  have  we  written  out 
enough  to  fill  a  column  of  the  Sun.  On  one  occasion  we  fell 
into  an  unpleasant  error.  A  certain  quasi-democratic  measure 
was  taken  up,  and  just  as  it  was  announced  that  Eeverdy 
Johnson  (a  Whig  of  Maryland)  had  risen  to  speak  to  it, 
the  wires  gave  out.  On  looking  over  the  heads  of  our  ciphers 
to  find  out  if  possible  what  a  Whig  would  likely  say  in  op- 
position to  it,  we  briefly  endeavored  to  make  the  honorable 
member  say  some  very  clever  things  against  it,  which  duly 
appeared  next  day  in  the  city  papers  which  we  were  supplying. 
When  the  mail  came  to  hand  we  were  chagrined  to  find,  that 
Mr.  Johnson  so  far  from  making  a  speech  against  the  measure, 
had  actually  advocated  it.  We  also  received  a  letter  from  our 
Washington  reporter,  begging  us  never  again  to  take  any  mat- 
ter for  granted ;  otherwise  he  should  lose  his  credit,  and  be 
ruined  in  his  business.  We  never  after  that  attempted  a  sim- 
ilar liberty.  As  good  luck  would  have  it  the  affair  blew  over 
without  exciting  any  public  remark. 

The  erection  of  competing  lines,  with  an  increase  of  wires 
on  the  first,  and  introduction  of  better  modes  of  insulating 
them,  led  to  such  a  reduction  of  tolls  on  reports  for  the  press, 
that  our  congressional  ciphers  were  laid  aside.  The  reports 
were  afterwards  obtained  as  we  now  see  them. 

It  was  several  months  after  the  first  New- York  and  Wash- 
ington line  was  opened,  before  scarcely  any  reliance  could  be 
placed  on  it.  And  the  few  brief  messages  we  sent  to  the 
Union  were  suspended,  on  the  ground  of  their  being  received 
in  an  unintelligible  form.     Those  received  in  return  by  us 


THE   ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  133 

from  the  south  for  the  New- York  press,  were  equally  blind 
and  puzzling.  We  recollect  on  one  occasion  sitting  up  to 
a  late  hour  at  night,  waiting  for  a  piece  of  news.  When,  how- 
ever, it  came  to  hand,  we  studied  over  its  meaning  till  our 
head  ached.  We  finally,  in  a  fit  of  despair,  made  as  near  as 
we  could  &  facsimile  copy  of  it,  and  sent  it  to  the  press.  It 
was  not  long  before  a  printer's  devil  from  one  of  the  offices 
returned  with  the  copy,  and  said,  "  The  foreman,  sir,  says  that 
he  cannot  read  your  copy."  "  Please  give  him  our  compli- 
ments," we  replied,  "  and  tell  him  that  we  cannot  read  it  our- 
selves." 

This  irregularity  and  illegibility  was  owing  to  the  imper- 
fect construction  of  the  early  lines,  and  to  the  want  of  experi- 
ence on  the   part  of  operators,  copyists,  &c. 

In  copies  of  our  congressional  cipher,  the  word  "  Dead" 
occurred,  opposite  to  which  stood  the  following  explanation  : 
"He,"  (Blank,  a  member  of  the  Senate),  "after  some  days' 
absence  from  indisposition,  reappeared  in  his  seat."  The 
Hon.  John  Davis,  a  senator  from  Massachusetts,  had  been 
confined  by  illness,  but  became  convalescent,  and  reappeared 
in  his  seat.  Hence  the  reporter  in  Washington  telegraphed,  in 
his  report  of  the  Senate  proceedings,  "John  Davis  Dead," 
which,  in  the  hurry  of  writing  out,  was  sent  to  the  press  lite- 
rally as  it  came.  The  same  message  was  overheard  in  the 
telegraph  office  in  Philadelphia,  by  another  reporter,  who  also 
gave  a  literal  copy  to  the  papers  there.  A  literal  copy  also 
reached  Boston.  It  drew  forth  a  great  number  of  the  most 
complimentary  eulogiums  on  the  supposed  deceased  from  the 
press,  which  Mr.  Davis  had  the  satisfaction  of  reading.  The 
error,  the  following  day,  was  corrected  by  telegraph  as  far  as 
practicable.  Mr.  Davis  is  still  alive,  and  a  member  of  Con- 
gress (1852). 

In  June,  1848,  the  Whig  Convention  met  in  Philadelphia, 
and  it  became  extremely  doubtful  who  would  receive  the  nomi- 
nation for  the  presidency.  It  seemed  to  lie  between  Mr.  Clay, 
Gen.  Taylor,  Gen.  Scott,  and  Judge  McLean.  The  day  on  which 
it  was  believed  a  decision  would  be  made,  we  devised  a  plan 


134  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

to  get  the  news  of  the  event  in  advance  of  all  others.  There 
was  then  no  line  across  the  Hudson  Kiver  ;  and  when  the  news 
arrived  in  Jersey  City,  it  would  have  to  be  sent  over  on  a  ferry- 
boat. We  therefore  provided  a  set  of  flags.  That  mounted 
with  a  single  piece  of  white  cloth,  was  to  indicate  that  Gen. 
Taylor  was  nominated.  Another,  with  a  red  flag,  was  to  de- 
note that  Mr.  Clay  had  received  the  nomination.  Two  white 
flags  on  the  same  staff  was  to  indicate  Gen.  Scott  as  the  nomi- 
nee, and  two  red  flags  on  a  staff  were  to  denote  the  result  in 
favor  of  Judge  McLean.  We  took  a  young  man  from  the 
Courier  Office,  gave  him  a  white  signal  flag,  to  answer  us  when 
we  should  take  our  position  on  the  west  side  of  the  Eiver. 
We  placed  him  on  a  pier  near  the  Courtlandt  Street  Ferry,  and 
gave  him  the  necessary  instructions.  About  10  to  11,  A.  M., 
we  crossed  over.  It  seems  that  there  was.  unknown  to  us,  a 
party  employed  by  a  company  of  brokers,  to  telegraph  the 
price  of  stocks  from  the  top  of  the  Merchants'  Exchange  to 
Jersey  City.  One  man  would  stand  on  the  top  of  this  build- 
ing, and,  on  waving  his  flag,  would  be  answered  by  another 
man,  who  would  wave  a  white  flag  as  a  token  of  his  readiness 
to  receive  communications.  The  figures  of  prices  of  stocks 
would  be  indicated  by  the  motions  given  to  the  flag  from  right 
to  left,  horizontally,  &c,  by  the  operator.  The  man  who  re- 
ceived the  numbers  in  Jersey  City,  would  re-send  or  telegraph 
them  to  Philadelphia.  After  I  had  placed  my  young  man, 
at  about  ll£,  A.  M.,  the  brokers'  man  in  Jersey  City  stepped 
out  on  the  pier,  and  waved  his  flag  to  the  man  on  the  Ex- 
change as  usual,  as  a  token  that  he  was  on  hand.  Our  young 
man,  seeing  this  white  flag  waving  on  the  pier,  supposed  it  to 
be  ours,  and  immediately  ran  to  the  newspaper  offices,  and  in- 
formed them  that  Gen.  Taylor  was  nominated.  It  produced 
great  excitement,  and  was  telegraphed  east.  On  reaching 
Portland,  Maine,  100  guns  were  fired.  The  eastern  line  soon 
after  gave  out,  and  the  news  could  not  be  contradicted.  It 
turned  out  that  Gen.  Taylor  was  not  nominated  until  the  suc- 
ceeding day. 

We  could  relate  many  other  curious  incidents  in  connec- 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  135 

tion  with,  early  telegraph  operations,  many  of  which  are  quite 
amusing. 

•We  afterwards  ascertained  that  a  combination  of  brokers, 
in  Wall-street  and  Philadelphia,  had  previous  to  the  erec- 
tion of  the  electric  telegraph  line  between  New- York  and 
the  latter  city,  established  a  private  semaphoric  or  visual  tele- 
graph. 

Their  plan  was  to  station  men  on  eminences  at  every  six 
or  eight  miles,  with  telescopes  in  their  hands.  They  were 
"also  provided  with  flags.  At  the  first  call  of  stocks  at  11 
o'clock  in  the  Board  of  Brokers,  at  the  Merchants'  Exchange, 
the  prices  at  which  the  stocks  chiefly  dealt  in,  sold  at,  would 
be  given  to  the  flag-man  on  top  of  the  Exchange,  who  would 
communicate  the  quotations  to  another  flag-man  in  Jersey 
City,  or  on  top  of  Bergen  Hill,  and  he  to  the  next,  until  Phi- 
ladelphia was  reached.  The  sales  in  Philadelphia  would  reach 
New- York  by  a  similar  method.  The  order  in  which  they 
were  sent,  indicated  what  stocks  were  referred  to. 

The  flag  was  attached  to  the  end  of  a  short  stick,  held  in 
either  hand.  All  the  figures  could  be  represented  by  the  po- 
sition in  which  the  flag  was  held  or  moved.  Thus,  if  the  flag 
was  held  at  right-angles  to  the  body,  it  might  be  taken  to 
mean  any  one  of  the  ten  digits.  When  held  up  directly  over 
the  head,  it  might  indicate  a  second  figure.  Other  figures 
could  be  represented  by  changing  the  flag  to  the  left  hand, 
and  varying  the  motions  accordingly.  When  held  perpendicu- 
larly over  the  head,  it  might  mean  that  the  market  generally 
was  up  ;  and  when  held  down  at  a  sharp  angle  to  the  body, 
it  might  indicate  the  reverse.  Half  revolutions  to  the  right, 
would  give  half  numbers ;  the  same  to  the  left,  quarters — and 
over  the  head,  eighths. 

It  was  said  that  the  news  by  this  plan  could  be  trans- 
mitted in  about  thirty  minutes.  The  chief  originator  and  su- 
perintendent of  the  scheme,  was  said  to  be  a  broker  in  Phila- 
delphia, who  retired  with  a  fortune.  9  Lottery  dealers,  also, 
contributed  to  sustain  that  or  a  similar  line,  for  the  purpose  of 
transmitting  the  drawn  numbers  of  successful  tickets.  Some 
wealthy  men  in  Jersey  City,  at  one  time  extensively  engaged 


136  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

in  lotteries,  it  is  said,  derived  important  advantages  from  this 
kind  of  visual  telegraph. 

Within  a  year  or  two  after  we  had  engaged  in  telegraph 
reporting,  an  association  of  three  or  four  reporters  was  organ- 
ized, who  employed  others  in  various  important  localities  to 
forward  and  receive  news  for  the  press.  Their  services  were 
either  paid  for  at  stated  weekly  salaries,  or  in  steamers'  and 
other  news  forwarded  in  exchange.  The  press  were  charged 
so  much  per  week  each,  while  the  reporters  paid  tolls  and  all 
other  expenses..  This  association  only  lasted  about  twelve 
months,  when  it  was  dissolved,  and,  as  far  as  New- York  was 
concerned,  we  became  the  agent  of  the  New- York  Associated 
Press,  for  all  news  arrangements  of  a  commercial  and  miscel- 
laneous character  throughout  the  United  States.  A  committee 
of  the  Press  attended  to  the  foreign  news  received  by  steamers 
at  Halifax,  which  was  the  more  necessary,  owing  to  difficulties 
which  had  arisen  between  them  and  Mr.  F.  0.  J.  Smith,  the 
president  of  the  Morse  Eastern  Lines. 

•  The  association  thus  formed  consisted  of  six  morning  pa- 
pers, viz. :  Herald,  Sun,  Journal  of  Commerce,  Express,  Tribune, 
and  Courier  and  Enquirer.  The  Times  has  since  joined  the 
Association,  making  it  consist  of  seven  instead  of  six. 

We  received  and  distributed  the  news,  paid  all  tolls  and 
other  expenses  necessary  to  conduct  the  business.  We  em- 
ployed reporters  in  all  the  principal  cities  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  and,  on  receiving  it  in  New-York,  would  make 
about  eight  or  nine  copies  of  it,  on  manifold  paper — six  for 
the  New- York  press,  and  the  remaining  copies  for  reforward- 
ing  to  the  press  in  other  cities  and  towns.  To  this  had  daily 
to  be  added  the  New- York  local  and  commercial  news,  ship 
news,  &c.  The  remuneration  for  services  was  made  to  depend 
chiefly  upon  what  we  could  obtain  from  papers  in  other  cities, 
such  as  Boston,  &c,  for  the  news  of  all  kinds  reforwarded,  in- 
cluding the  local  intelligence.  The  agent  had  an  office  sepa- 
rate from  the  press,  but  centrally  located,  where  he  employed 
generally  an  assistant,  besides  one  or  two  other  parties  either 
as  Clerks  or  aids,  with  an  errand  boy  or  two.  * 

In  reporting  Congressional  proceedings,  the  usual  plan  was 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  137 

to  employ  two  reporters  in  Washington ;  one  for  the  House 
of  Kepresentatives,  and  another  for  the  Senate.  The  reports 
of  the  House  would  be  sent  by  one  line,  and  those  of  the 
Senate  by  the  other. 

The  plan  upon  which  the  members  of  the  Associated  Press 
acted  in  obtaining  extra  news,  was  such,  that  any  one  of  them 
could  order  any  particular  kind  of  news,  such  as  proceedings 
of  conventions,  &c,  and  the  others  were  to  exercise  their  op- 
tion whether  they  would  take  it.  If  all  should  decline  it  but 
one  or  two,  those  one  or  two  were  expected  to  bear  the  whole 
expense. 

One  of  the  earliest  telegraph  feats,  after  the  extension  of  the 
telegraph  lines  west  to  Cincinnati,  was  brought  about  by  the 
agency  of  the  New-  York  Herald,  and  before  any  regular  asso- 
ciation of  the  press  was  formed  in  New- York. 

It  became  known  that  Mr.  Clay  would  deliver  a  speech  in 
Lexington  (Ky.),  on  the  Mexican  war,  which  was  then  ex- 
citing much  public  attention.  Mr.  Bennett,  editor  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  Herald,  requested  us  to  have  Mr.  Clay's  speech 
reported  for  the  paper.  We  at  once  proceeded  to  make  ar- 
rangements to  carry  it  into  effect.  We  had  a  regular  and 
efficient  reporter  already  employed  in  Cincinnati,  a  Mr.  G. 
Bennett ;  we  also  had  a  Mr.  Thompson  in  Philadelphia  in  co- 
operation with  us  for  some  papers  there,  and  which  agreed,  if 
the  speech  was  first  received,  to  share  the  expense  with  the 
Herald.  The  Tribune  in  New- York,  and  the  North  American 
in  Philadelphia,  agreed  to  start  for  a  report  of  the  speech,  in 
opposition.  From  Lexington  to  Cincinnati  was  eighty  miles, 
over  which  an  express  had  to  be  run.  Horses  were  placed  at 
every  ten  miles  by  the  Cincinnati  agent.  An  expert  rider 
was  engaged,  and  a  short-hand  reporter  or  two  stationed  in 
Lexington.  When  they  had  prepared  his  speech,  it  was 
then  dark.  The  express-man,  on  receiving  it,  proceeded 
with  it  for  Cincinnati.  The  night  was  dark  and  rainy,  yet 
he  accomplished  the  trip  in  eight  hours,  over  a  rough,  hilly 
country  road.  The  whole  speech  was  received  at  the  Herald 
office  at  an  early  hour  next  morning,  although  the  wires  were 
interrupted  for  a  short  time  in  the  night,  near  Pittsburg,  in 


138  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

consequence  of  the  limb  of  a  tree  having  fallen  across  them. 
An  enterprising  operator  in  the  Pittsburg  office,  finding  com- 
munication suspended,  procured  a  horse,  and  rode  along  the 
line  amidst  the  darkness  and  rain,  found  the  place,  and  the 
cause  of  the  break,  which  he  repaired :  then  returned  to  the 
office,  and  finished  sending  the  speech. 

The  Philadelphia  North  American,  upon  whom  the  Tribune 
chiefly  depended,  failed  to  get  its  report ;  and  the  latter  pur- 
chased a  copy  from  the  Herald. 

The  expense  in  securing  the  speech  by  express  and  tele- 
graph, amounted  to  about  $500. 

*  The  telegraphs  have  derived  a  very  large  share  of  their 
revenue  from  the  press.  The  whole  expense,  for  telegraph 
reports  of  all  kinds,  have  some  years  cost  the  New-York  As- 
sociated Press  (six  in  number)  probably  about  $5,000  each, 
or  a  total  of  $30,000  per  annum.  The  average  for  the  past 
five  years  probably  has  not  been  less  than  about  $25,000  to 
$30,000  per  annum.  During  long  sessions  of  Congress  it  ex- 
ceeded this  amount.  • 

Sometimes  a  single  paper  availed  itself  of  the  privilege  of 
ordering  long  and  expensive  reports  of  meetings,  speeches,  con- 
ventions, &c,  in  which  its  associates  participated  or  declined 
as  best  suited  their  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  news.  In  case 
the  other  papers  refused  to  receive  it,  the  whole  expense  was 
borne  by  it.  The  Herald  is  the  only  one  of  its  associates 
which  publishes  a  Sunday  paper — hence  it  takes  all  the  tele- 
graph news  which  is  received  on  Saturday  afternoon  and 
night,  and  pays  the  whole  expense  of  the  tolls. 

In  managing  the  financial  affairs  of  the  business,  we  soon 
found  it  necessary  to  arrange  a  system  for  conducting  it,  and 
afterwards  rigidly  adhered  to  it. 

We  proceeded  thus.  All  the  telegraph  offices  in  the  city  were 
required  to  send  in  their  accounts  weekly.  These  were  exam- 
ined and  all  set  down  in  a  general  bill,  to  which  was  added 
office  and  other  incidental  expenses.  The  aggregate  sum  was 
then  divided  into  six  parts,  and  submitted  to  the  treasurer  of 
the  association,  on  whose  approval  the  respective  amounts 


THE   ELECTRIC   TELEGRAPH.  139 

were  collected  from  the  associated  papers.  On  each  Saturday 
we  paid  off  all  the  telegraph  bills,  and  office  expenses,  and 
commenced  the  following  week  de  novo.  In  case  any  paper 
had  failed  to  pay,  its  news  would  have  been  stopped.  Papers 
supplied  in  Boston  and  various  other  places,  were  expected 
to  pay  monthly.  At  the  expiration  of  each  month  their  ac- 
counts were  regularly  forwarded.  If  any  country  paper  failed 
to  make  monthly  settlements  their  news  was  discontinued. 
The  bills  of  our  correspondents  for  services,  were  also  paid 
monthly. 

The  system  thus  organized  worked  quite  smoothly,  and 
gave  very  little  trouble :  our  services,  however,  were  severe. 
Help,  with  the  proper  tact  and  necessary  prior  instruction,  could 
not  be  had.  We  were  compelled  to  take  inexperienced  and 
youthful  parties,  and  by  long  drilling  to  create  as  it  were  our 
assistance.  We  had  also  to  hunt  up  and  secure  the  best  Eeport- 
ers  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

The  business  required  our  personal  attention  day  and  night, 
Sunday  and  Monday.  Often  on  stormy  nights  in  winter,  when 
our  errand  boys  were  either  ill,  or  absent  in  Jersey  City, 
have  we  gone  round  at  twelve  and  one  o'clock,  and  delivered 
messages  with  a  snow  or  sleet  storm  beating  in  our  face  ;  and 
having,  at  many  of  the  offices,  to  climb  three  or  four  pair  of 
stairs  to  find  the  composing  room.  For  months  at  a  time  we 
seldom  retired  before  twelve  to  one  o'clock,  and  then  had  to 
be  on  duty  through  the  next  day.  During  state  elections  we  were 
frequently  up  all  night ;  and  at  the  Presidential  election  in  1848, 
we  remained  up  for  three  nights  consecutively.  The  tolls  on 
the  returns  on  that  occasion  cost  the  associated  press,  some- 
thing over  $1,000. 

Our  services  were  thus  continued,  until  the  19th  May  1851, 
when  we  resigned  the  general  news  agency,  after  having  de- 
voted from  five  to  six  years  of  unremitted  health-wearing  toil  to 
the  business,  and  were  succeeded  by  D.  H.  Craig  Esq.,  who  con- 
tinues to  act  as  such  at  the  present  time ;  though  we  continue  to 
prepare  the  commercial  news  for  the  associated  press,  which  is 
sent  off  daily  through  Mr.  Craig  in  all  directions  as  previously 


140  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

done  by  us.  This  change  has  relieved  us  of  night  work  and  many 
annoyances  which  seemed  in  a  measure  inseparable  from  the 
business. 

The  vexations  endured  were  aggravated  by  dissensions 
which  grew  up  between  the  managers  of  some  of  the  Morse 
telegraph  lines  and  the  press.  There  were  also  contentions  be- 
tween the  members  of  the  press  in  Boston  and  other  places,  fan- 
ned if  not  engendered  by  the  jealousies  of  some  of  the  Morse 
lines,  and  especially  by  those  under  the  control  of  F.  0.  J.  Smith. 
This  gentleman  refused  to  have  steamers'  news  come  over  his 
line  from  Halifax,  for  the  associated  press,  unless  they  dismissed 
Mr.  Craig,  then  acting  as  their  Halifax  agent.  This  led  to  a  rup- 
ture, by  which  the  press  of  Boston  became  divided.  The  asso- 
ciation retained  Mr.  Craig,  and  ran  a  locomotive  express  at  an 
enormous  expense  with  each  steamer's  news,  from  Portland  to 
Boston,  there  being  no  telegraph  between  the  two  points  but 
that  owned  by  Smith.  From  Boston  it  came  over  by  the  Bain's 
line  to  New- York.  The  association  also,  by  its  encouragement, 
caused  a  company  to  extend  the  Bain  line  from  Boston  to  Port- 
land, where  it  united  with  the  lines  extending  thence  to  Hali- 
fax, and  which  were  beyond  the  control  of  Smith.  The  war 
was  a  very  fierce  one;  many  pamphlets  appeared  on  both 
sides,  including  one  by  Mr.  Craig  in  his  defence  against 
Smith's  charges.  The  latter  left  no  stone  unturned.  Among 
other  efforts  to  thwart  the  Association,  it  is  said  that  he  en- 
deavored to  get  control  of  one  of  the  links  on  the  Halifax 
line  east  of  Portland.  He  also  appealed  to  the  Provincial 
Legislature  of  New  Brunswick,  and  protested  against  the 
management  of  the  Halifax  line  by  its  superintendent ;  but 
all  without  avail.  His  success  in  putting  the  newspaper  press 
by  the  ears,  was  not  only  less  difficult,  but  more  complete. 
At  one  time  Smith  refused  to  receive  and  transmit  private 
messages  handed  in  by  merchants  and  others  for  Halifax, 
or  to  let  any  thing  come  over  his  line  from  thence.  The 
Morse  New- York  and  Buffalo  line  was  managed  on  a  sys- 
tem almost  as  peculiar,  under  the  direction  of  its  president,  T.  S. 
Faxton.     When  the  Bain  and  House  lines  were  completed,  be- 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  141 

tween  New- York  and  Buffalo,  and  came  in  competition  with 
his  own,  he  demanded  that  unless  all  the  news  we  were  in  the 
habit  of  sending  for  the  papers  west,  went  over  his  line,  that 
he  should  decline  sending  our  reports  unless  they  were  pre- 
paid in  advance  at  private  rates ! 

Some  of  the  press  desired  to  get  our  news  over  the  Bain 
or  House  lines.  It  was  in  vain  we  urged  upon  Mr.  Faxton, 
the  propriety  of  leaving  the  press  to  choose  which  line  they 
would  prefer  to  have  their  news  by.  It  would  not  all  do,  and 
as  we  persisted  in  dividing  our  news  as  requested  by  the 
press  which  we  served,  we  soon  after  received  a  notice  from 
the  chief  operator  at  the  office  in  New  York,  Mr.  Johnson,  that 
other  arrangements  had  been  made,  and  our  news  would  not 
be  sent :  that  is,  Faxton  had  engaged  to  serve  a  majority  of 
the  papers  we  had  been  supplying,  for  less  money,  and  to  in- 
clude the  expense  of  reporting.  The  line  then  employed  a 
young  man  in  opposition  to  us,  whom  we  had  instructed  and 
brought  up  to  the  business.  He  was  also  patronized  by  F.  0.  J. 
Smith's  line  in  its  eastern  arrangements,  in  combination  with  a 
portion  of  the  Boston  papers,  who  had  defended  its  course  in 
opposition  to  the  New- York  Associated  Press. 

Irregularities  also  prevailed  occasionally  on  the  Morse  sea- 
board line.  On  one  occasion,  important  California  news  was 
started  for  us^at  New  Orleans,  in  advance  of  all  others  by  half 
a  day,  which  never  came  to  hand;  while  the  same  news 
reached  the  opposition  party  in  due  time.  At  another  period, 
the  burning  of  the  St.  Charles  Hotel,  in  New  Orleans,  was 
put  in  for  us  at  a  late  hour  on  a  Saturday  night,  soon  after  which 
the  wires  became  involved  in  the  flames.  Our  dispatch  was 
the  only  one  which  left  the  city  that  night  concerning  the  fire  ; 
and  communication  was  not  re-established  until  about  12 
o'clock  next  day ;  yet,  strange  to  say,  our  opponent,  alluded 
to  above,  not  only  received  the  news  in  advance  of  us,  but  had 
it  reforwarded  over  Smith's  line,  and  published  in  the  Boston 
papers  in  advance  of  us.  Not  only  so,  but  some  members  of 
the  press  in  that  city,  who  patronized  us,  wrote  angry  com- 
plaints for  our  having  been  beat  with  that  important  news ! 
Our  difficulties  were  equally  as  great  in  getting  news  from 


142  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

New-York  to  New  Orleans.  So  much  so,  that  the  Merchants' 
Exchange,  which  we  were  serving,  abandoned  the  line  alto- 
gether, and  requested  us  to  send  their  messages  by  the  western 
or  O'Keilly  lines ;  and,  if  it  failed  to  work,  to  send  none  ;  by 
which  course  our  business  was  seriously  damaged.  We  could 
name  other  instances  of  similar  management.  We  appealed  to 
the  President  of  the  Morse  New  Orleans  line  for  an  explanation ; 
but  no  satisfactory  solution  ever  came.  We  appealed  to  the 
association,  and  desired  that  such  proceedings  should  be  made 
public.  They  seemed  duly  impressed  with  the  injurious  con- 
sequences of  such  management,  and  caused  us  to  make  re- 
newed complaints  to  the  President,  promising,  if  no  satisfac- 
tory answers  were  obtained,  they  would  then  publish  an 
account  of  the  matter.  Nothing  further  was  developed  or  ex- 
plained, and  the  subject  was  dropped ;  soon  after  which  we 
retired,  as  previously  stated,  from  the  general  news  department. 
We  could  on  some  occasions  have  justly  appealed  to  the  courts 
of  law  for  redress  ;  but  this  we  declined  to  do. 

From  the  facts  stated  in  connection  with  the  management 
of  some  of  the  principal  Morse  lines,  it  can  be  readily  imagined 
to  what  tyranny  the  press  and  the  people  of  the  United  States 
might  have  been  subjected,  had  the  claimants  under  the  Morse 
patents  succeeded,  by  expensive  lawsuits,  in  beating  off  all 
competition,  and  securing  in  their  own  favor  an  unrestrained 
and  uncontrolled  monopoly  ! 

As  a  further  illustration  as  to  the  method  in  which  busi- 
ness was  conducted  by  some  of  the  lines  at  that  time,  we  give 
extracts  from  an  address  made  by  Marshall  Lefferts,  Esq.,  Pre- 
sident of  the  Merchants'  Line,  to  the  stockholders,  in  1851 : 

"  As  to  our  Southern  and  Western  business,  it  has  fallen  off  because 
of  our  inability  to  perform  the  obligations  either  with  profit  or  credit  to 
ourselves.  We  found  it  necessary  to  issue  a  notice  to  merchants,  stating 
that  we  would  use  our  best  endeavors  to  forward  dispatches  beyond 
the  terminus  of  our  own  line,  but  could  in  no  way  guarantee  their 
transmission  beyond.  I  must  explain,  Gentlemen,  the  nature  of  this  : 
A.  presents  himself  at  our  Boston  office  to  send  a  message  (for  instance) 
to  New  Orleans.     We  receive  and  send  it  to  New-York,  and  there  hand 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  143 

it  over  to  one  of  the  Southern  lines,  paying  them  at  the  same  time  the 
price  of  transmission  for  the  whole  distance,  we  simply  deducting  for 
our  service  performed.  And  so  the  message  is  passed  on,  either  to  stop 
on  the  way,  or  by  good  luck  to  reach  its  destination.  If  it  does  not 
reach  its  destination, — and  which  is  of  such  frequent  occurrence, — the 
sender  of  the  dispatch  presents  himself  at  the  counter  of  our  office  and 
demands  the  return  of  his  money.  After  giving  us  on  the  spot  the 
most  undoubted  evidence  of  the  fact  of  the  message  never  having 
reached  its  destination,  we  inform  him  we  will  make  inquiries,  and  if 
we  can  learn  which  line  is  at  fault  we  will  return  him  his  money.  We 
make  inquiry,  and  when  I  tell  you  we  can  get  no  satisfaction,  it  is  al- 
most the  universal  answer  ;  for  they  all  insist  on  having  sent  the  mes- 
sage through.  We  explain  to  the  sender  of  the  dispatch,  and  while  he 
protests,  most  justly,  we  are  not  in  a  position  to  refund  him  his  money  ; 
for  you  will  bear  in  mind  that  we  have  received  but  a  moiety  of  the 
amount  for  our  service,  and  to  refund  the  whole  would  be  to  give  back 
not  only  what  we  had  fairly  earned,  but  also  that  which  the  other  lines 
had  .received  and  pocketed,  without  performing  any  service.  Of  the 
large  number  of  such  mistakes  and  miscarriages  which  have  come  under 
my  notice,  we  have  not  been  able  to  refund  one  out  of  ten.  Now  what 
is  the  effect  of  this  gross  mismanagement  of  the  public  interest  ?  No 
argument,  no  explanation, — for  none  can  be  made  in  equity  or  justice, 
— can  satisfy  the  individual  who  has  been  the  loser,  to  a  greater  or  less 
degree.  He  has  not  studied  how  many  lines  are  to  be  the  bearer  of 
his  dispatch ; — he  paid  the  money  to  us  for  its  transmission,  and  al- 
though we  have  performed  our  obligation  as  stated  by  our  notice  we 
agreed  to  do,  and  he  has  no  legal  claim  upon  us,  yet  I  say  he  has  a 
moral  claim,  and  failing  in  its  enforcement,  he  becomes  disguste'd  with 
both  our  line  and  the  system.  It  is  true  that  he  still  finds  himself  com- 
pelled to  use  it,  but  I  ask  you  what  is  the  difference  between  merchants 
or  individuals  using  it  by  compulsion,  to  keep  pace  with  the  times,  or 
his  being  able  and  happy  to  use  it  as  a  convenient  and  reliable  means  of 
executing  his  business  ?  The  application  I  mean  as  general, — and  what 
is  the  effect  produced  ?  On  the  other  hand,  what  would  be  the  effect, 
could  some  of  the  glaring  abuses  which  clog  and  fetter  the  enterprise  be 
removed  ?  I  told  you  we  had  avoided  the  Southern  and  Western  busi- 
ness, and  that  our  receipts  were  less  in  consequence  from  this  source  ; 
but  the  reason  you  now  know,  and  I  trust  appreciate.  Better  that  we 
should  not  send  a  single  message,  than  do  it  at  the  expense  of  our  re- 
putation and  our  conscience. 


144  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

Some  few  weeks  since  I  received  from  Mr.  Craig,  at  Halifax,  the 
indefatigable  agent  of  the  Associated  Press,  a  letter  touching  upon  this 
subject,  and  I  quote  from  two  or  three  of  the  letters  which  passed  be- 
tween us : — 

New-York,  26th  Oct.,  1850. 
D.  H.  Craig,  Esq.,  Halifax. 

Dear  Sir, — Mr.  O'Reilly  has  handed  me  your  letter  of  the  11th  inst.  re- 
specting the  working  of  the  line  between  this  city  and  Halifax,  and  instancing 
some  mistakes,  errors,  or  wilful  neglect.  It  is  needless  for  me  to  say  that  /  most 
heartily  agree  to  the  plan  proposed  by  Mr.  Gisbourn,  i.  e.,  that  the  line  in  fault 
shall  pay  the  other  lines  which  have  done  their  work  correctly,  and  by  which 
means  also  the  sender  of  the  message  will  get  hi3  money  refunded.  I  have  been 
endeavoring  to  get  all  the  lines  to  come  into  such  an  arrangement,  and  still  hope 
for  success.  I  have  further,  in  two  or  three  conversations  with  Messrs.  Hudson 
and  Andrews,  urged  them  to  use  their  influence  to  bring  about  such  an  arrange- 
ment, or  any  rules  and  regulations  to  govern  the  lines,  which  will  put  a  stop  to 
this  plunder  of  the  people.  You  may  build  line  after  line,  and  cover  the  United 
States  with  this  net- work  of  wires,  but  neither  the  business  of  Telegraphing  nor 
its  convenience  to  the  public  be  appreciated,  till  they  can  get  in  return  for  their 
money,  other  than  carelessness,  errors,  and  insults ;  and  I  know  of  no  surer  way 
of  reaching  the  evil  as  a  beginning  than  the  plan  you  propose ;  and  I  therefore 
most  willingly  accept  the  proposition  of  Mr.  Gisbourn,  and  we  shall  soon  see 
which  are  the  lines  at  fault.  I  have,  like  yourself,  lately  had  occasion  to  inquire 
into  the  loss  of  a  message,  but  I  could  get  no  satisfaction,  and  how  absurd  it  is  to 
have  business  conducted  in  such  a  manner.  I  do  not  intend  to  say  that  our  line 
makes  no  mistakes,  or  is  not  in  some  cases  at  fault ;  but  I  wish  to  find  out  the 
errors,  and  have  them  corrected  by  a  more  efficient  staff  of  operators,  and  when 
we  are  not  at  fault,  have  the  blame  and  expense  rest  upon  the  right  shoulders.  I 
have  seen  the  Superintendent  of  the  Portland  line — Mr.  C.  Hudson — and  he  is 
also  quite  willing  to  enter  into  a  similar  arrangement. 

I  would  suggest,  as  a  means  of  arriving  quickly  at  the  line  at  fault,  that  the 
office  from  which  the  message  starts  should,  in  case  of  complaint  that  it  did  not  go 
through,  require  the  original  to  be  returned ;  thus  I  hope  to  see  all  made  satis- 
factory in  that  respect. 

I  shall  at  all  times  be  most  happy  to  receive  your  suggestions, 
And  remain,  dear  sir, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Marshall  Lefferts, 

Pres't  N.Y.&N.  E.  Tel.  Co. 


5th  Dec,  1850. 
{Extract.)  Craig  to  Mr.  Lefferts. 

"  I  was  very  much  gratified  a  few  weeks  since,  to  receive  your  obliging  and 
perfectly  satisfactory  letter,  and  I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that  it  was  regarded 
with  great  favor  by  the  Commissioners  of  their  line.     I  was  especially  glad  to  find 


THE  ELECTKIC  TELEGRAPH.  145 

that  I  had  not,  in  my  voluntary  assurance  to  the  Commissioners,  overrated  your 
sense  of  what  constitutes  justice  between  Telegraph  Companies  and  the  public. 
Your  views  were  responded  to  fully  and  in  every  particular  by  the  Commission- 
ers, and  they,  with  my  permission,  inclosed  your  letter  to  Mr.  Jardine,  of  the 
New  Brunswick  line,  and  took  that  occasion  to  reiterate  their  firm  resolution  to 
insist  upon  having  an  entire  reform  in  the  whole  system  of  doing  business,  and 
thank  heaven  we  can  now  send  dispatches  correctly,  or  else  secure  tho  prompt 
return  of  our  money." 

I  hope  that  those  to  whom  Mr.  Craig  has  referred  the  subject  will 
not  (and  I  know  them  to  be  desirous  to  render  their  lines  worthy  of  all 
confidence)  let  the  matter  sleep,  but  by  a  well  regulated  understanding 
between  the  companies  between  Halifax  and  New- York,  set  an  exam- 
ple which  must  soon  be  followed  by  others.  What  I  propose  is  that, 
by  agreement,  messages  not  sent  through  within  a  given  time  after  they 
are  received, — or  messages  which  have  had  errors  made  in  them,  or 
which,  for  any  fault  of  the  line,  fail  to  be  of  service  to  the  party  in  con- 
sequence of  delay, — that  in  all  such  cases  the  money  shall  be  refunded ; 
and  that  the  arrangements  for  carrying  out  this  agreement  be  of  such 
a  character  that  speedy  justice  can  be  done  the  applicant  by  the  return 
of  his  money  ;  and  that  the  line  offending  shall  pay  the  full  amount 
refunded,  so  that  those  lines  which  may  have  performed  their  work 
promptly  shall  not  lose  by  the  carelessness  of  the  other.  Is  there  any 
thing  unreasonable  in  this  as  between  the  lines  ?  and  is  it  not  rational 
towards  the  public  ?  Let  this  single  correction  be  carried  out,  and  it 
will  cause  the  working  of  the  various  lines  to  be  more  closely  looked 
after,  and  those  clerks  who  are  careless  and  indifferent,  to  be  replaced 
by  those  more  competent  and  faithful ;  and  therefore  the  merchant  will 
not  only  have  his  money  refunded  when  properly  demandable,  but 
there  will  be  added  a  general  guarantee  to  the  reliableness  of  the  Tele- 
graphic system. 

With  your  sanction,  I  propose  that  an  appeal  through  the  public 
prints  be  made  to  all  the  lines,  asking  them  to  join  in  such  an  engage- 
ment, and,  as  they  consent,  let  the  public  know  which  lines  are  willing 
to  deal  upon  just  principles,  and  which  not.  Clear  the  enterprise  of  the 
shackles  which  now  weigh  it  down,  put  it  in  the  hands  of  men  satisfied 
with  a  fair  remuneration,  and  alive  to  its  national  importance,  and  who 
shall  set  bounds  to  its  extension  and  usefulness  !  Travel  back,  as  but 
of  yesterday,  only  six  years,  and  see  the  few  posts  and  wires — the  cum- 
bersome machinery — its  slow  and  inaccurate  mode  of  writing — and  now 
take  up  the  daily  journals,  and  see  their  pages  teeming  with  telegraphic 
10 


146  HISTOKICAL  SKETCH   OF 

news  from  all  parts  of  the  Union  ;  and  if  a  few  years  have  accomplished 
this,  what  may  we  not  expect  from  the  next  few  which  are  to  follow  ! 

I  have  but  one  other  point  to  which  I  ask  your  attention,  but  it  is 
nevertheless  one  of  much  importance — I  allude  to  the  non-intercourse 
policy — which  those  lines  or  companies,  known  as  the  Morse  lines, 
have  set  up.  The  case  stands  thus  :  messages  which  may  be  sent  from 
Philadelphia,  for  Boston,  coming  to  our  office — we  being  out  of  order, 
or  for  any  other  reason — we  take  them  to  the  Morse  line ;  they  will 
refuse  to  receive  them,  although  tendered  their  regular  charge  for  trans- 
mission ;  and  the  same  rule  applies  to  all  their  lines  throughout  the. 
country.  Can  they  sustain  themselves  before  the  public  when  the  facts 
are  understood  ?  Why,  the  same  rule  applies  if  any  of  you  were  a  pas- 
senger from  Philadelphia,  for  Boston,  and  when  presenting  yourself  at 
the  New-Haven  depot,  you  are  told,  "  We  know  you  came  by  the  Am- 
boy  line  from  Philadelphia,  and  we  are  sueing  that  company  for  an  in- 
fringement of  patent  axles,  and  you  cannot  go  on  our  line."  Such  is 
the  refusal  of  telegraph  messages,  and  I  say  it  is  an  outrage  upon  jus- 
tice, common  sense  and  honesty.  Their  refusal  rests  simply  upon  a  per- 
sonal quarrel,  with  which  the  public  have  nothing  to  do,  more  than 
they  have  with  all  squabbles  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other ; 
and  to  us  it  makes  no  difference  beyond  the  collateral  effect  which,  of 
the  abuses  of  the  system,  it  brings  upon  us  by  disgusting  the  public 
with  the  system  and  the  manner  of  conducting  the  business.  See  how 
it  is  further  carried  out  on  our  Buffalo  line.  We  expected  to  make  ar- 
rangements with  the  line  to  and  through  the  Canadas.  An  individual 
(a  Superintendent  of  an  intermediate  line  of  about  twenty  miles  in 
length)  said  he  would  rather  have  all  his  messages  mailed  at  Troy,  for 
New- York,  than  that  they  should  pass  over  our  line.  Such  a  course 
might  suit  his  feelings,  but  it  fortunately  happens  that  his  messages  are 
the  property  of  others  (and  his  generosity  to  the  Morse  line  is  being 
generous  on  others'  means),  and  their  voice,  sooner  or  later,  will  be 
heard  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  demanding  the  correction  of  these  abuses. 
In  the  hands  of  men,  regardless  of  the  trust  over  which  they  are  placed 
as  directors,  what  can  we  expect  of  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  obey,  and 
who  should  have  an  example  of  better  faith  set  them  ?  I  will  make  no 
particular  allusion — I  am  now  speaking  generally  of  the  system — for 
my  object  is  not  to  raise  hostility  or  personal  animosity,  but  simply  to 
lift  my  voice  as  one  against  the  injustice  which  now  attaches  itself  to 
the  business  as  conducted,  and,  by  pointing  out  some  of  the  more  glar- 
ing abuses,  lend  my  feeble  assistance  to  the  welfare  of  the  enterprise. 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  147 

It  is  often  the  case  on  lines,  that  when  they  are  out  of  order,  to  mail 
their  dispatches  to  their  offices,  and  thence  distribute  them  ;  and  in  one 
case  which  I  looked  into  personally,  it  stood  thus :  A  message  was 
sent  from  Boston,  over  our  line,  for  a  point  beyond  New- York ;  we 
handed  it  over  to  the  line  here,  paying  them  something  over  $3  for  it. 
Shortly  after,  complaint  was  made  that  the  message  came  to  hand  on 
the  same  day  as  the  letter  by  mail ;  and  on  investigation,  I  found  that 
the  telegraph  message  had  been  mailed  the  same  day  on  which  we 
handed  it  to  them,  for  which  service  they  saw  fit  to  pocket  the  three 
dollars.  Surely  this  is  telegraphing  with  a  vengeance.  At  other  times, 
they  are  thrown  amongst  the  waste  paper  of  the  office,  or  perchance 
they  are  given  a  more  respectable  death  by  pitching  them  into  the 
stove.  These  things  are  no  fiction — they  are  facts — and  by  no  means 
of  rare  occurrence.  But  gentlemen,  I  have  no  wish  to  tire  you  by  such 
details ;  but  that  they  have  a  direct  and  important  bearing  upon  the 
success  of  our  company  cannot  be  doubted,  and  by  calling  your  atten- 
tion to  them,  I  feel  confident  your  suggestions  will  lead  to  good  results." 

The  plan  of  non-intercourse  was  commenced  by  F.  0.  J. 
Smith,  prior  to  the  erection  of  any  competing  lines  between 
New- York  and  Boston.  Soon  after  the  rupture  between  the 
Morse  patentees  and  O'Eeilly,  he  refused  to  re-send  any  dis- 
patches to  Boston,  which  reached  New- York  over  the  O'Eeilly 
lines  from  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati,  or  from  any  other  point  at 
the  West.  It  was  immaterial  whether  they  related  to  illness, 
deaths,  marriages  or  business  ;  they  had  to  be  mailed  to  Bos- 
ton, and  some  days  would  often  elapse  before  answers  could 
be  returned. 

Mr.  Smith,  in  his  Congressional  Eeport  in  favor  of  granting 
$30,000  to  Morse  to  enable  him  to  build  his  line,  dwelt  upon 
the  advantages  the  telegraph  would  prove  to  the  public  and  to 
the  government,  and  that  the  American  people  were  desirous 
the  grant  should  be  made.  He  also  alluded  to  "  the  grandeur" 
of  the  discovery,  which,  from  "  a  feeling  of  religious  reverence," 
"  the  human  mind  had  hardly  dared  to  contemplate."  (See 
VaiVs  Magnetic  Telegraph  Book,  pp.  77,  78. 

We  cannot  conclude  this  chapter,  without  speaking  in  high 
praise  of  the  various  reporters  who  were  employed  by  us,  or 
associated  with  us,  at  different  times,  in  various  parts  of  the 


148  HISTOKICAL  SKETCH. 

country,  and  many  of  whom  are  still  employed  by  the  Asso- 
ciated Press  of  New- York.  Among  others,  we  take  pleasure 
in  naming  C.  C.  Fulton,  Esq.,  of  Baltimore ;  William  Lacy, 
Esq.,  of  Albany ;  George  W.  Brown,  Esq.,  of  Buffalo,  since 
appointed  consul  to  Tangier;  Mr.*  Davidson,  of  the  same  city; 
George  Bennett  and  Eichard  Smith,  of  Cincinnati;  Eugene 
Fuller,  Esq.,  of  New  Orleans ;  Edward  Goff  Penny,  Esq.,  of 
Montreal,  and  Charles  Lindsay,  Esq.,  of  Toronto,  Canada; 
Joseph  Palmer,  Esq.,  and  William  Stimson,  of  Boston ;  and 
J.  B.  Skinner,  Esq.,  of  Norfolk,  Ya. ;  besides  many  other  excel- 
lent men,  in  other  less  important  localities,  with  others  em- 
ployed as  occasional  reporters  for  conventions,  public  meet- 
ings, &c. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

FAST  METHODS  OF  TELEGRAPH  "WRITING— F AC-SIMILE  TRANS- 
MISSIONS OF  MANUSCRIPT,  PRINTED  COPY,  AND  FIGURES 
OF  ALL  KINDS— PROPOSED  ELECTRO-MAGNETIC  LOCKS. 

Further  improvements  in  Electric  Telegraphs  are  mnch 
wanted,  in  reference  to  securing  greater  speed  in  telegraph, 
writing,  with  more  permanent  and  constant  communication 
over  the  wires. 

The  first  object  is  of  difficult  accomplishment.  The  second 
is  attainable  by  a  greater  outlay  of  capital. 

We  have  seen  that  it  requires  a  slight  period  of  time,  and 
from  one  to  five  motions  of  the  finger,  to  write  a  single  letter ; 
and  that  the  highest  rate  of  speed,  so  far  obtained  by  the  pre- 
sent modes  in  use,  is  only  about  80  to  100  letters  per  minute, 
or  about  1000  words  per  hour. 

When  interruptions  occur,  messages  rapidly  accumulate  on 
the  hands  of  the  operators,  frequently  including  long  and  valu- 
able news  messages  for  the  press.  Under  such  circumstances, 
if  there  could  be  a  method  of  writing  employed,  an  hundred 
fold  more  rapid  than  the  present,  when  the  interruption  ceased, 
or  the  line  recommenced  working,  the  whole  could  be  speedily 
sent  forward,  and  in  time  to  prove  valuable  to  the  recipients, 
and  profitable  to  the  line.  At  present,  in  cases  of  this  nature, 
the  transmission  of  delayed  messages  is  so  slow,  that,  before 
they  can  be  cleared  off,  they  become  useless,  being  superseded 
by  the  mail,  or  are  withdrawn  by  their  authors. 

Mr.  Bain  was  the  first  to  propose  a  fast  method  of  commu- 
nication. He  prepared  endless  slips  of  paper,  about  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  in  width.     These  he  perforated  with  holes  and  slits, 


150  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

to  represent  the  dots  and  lines  of  his  alphabet.  Common  writ- 
ing paper,  when  dry,  is  found  to  be  a  very  good  non-conductor 
of  electricity — hence  he  broke  and  closed  the  circuit  of  a  tele- 
graph line,  by  merely  causing  this  slip  of  paper  to  revolve  be- 
tween the  conducting  points  of  his  instruments.  The  electric 
fluid  would  pass  through  all  the  open  spaces  or  holes  in  the 
slip,  when  drawn  forward  beneath  the  point  of  a  conducting 
wire  ;  but  the  fluid  would  be  arrested,  or  the  current  broken, 
by  the  intervening  solid  parts  of  the  paper.  Thus,  the  holes 
and  slits  would  be  rapidly  reproduced  on  the  chemical  pa- 
per in  his  machine  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  wire.  As 
punching  a  long  slip  of  paper  with  lengthy  messages  was  a 
slow  process,  Mr.  Bain  invented  a  very  ingenious  punching 
machine,  which  drew  forward  the  ribbon  fillet  of  paper,  and 
punched  it  at  the  same  moment,  by  merely  turning  a  crank 
with  one  hand,  and  touching  a  key  with  a  finger  of  the  other, 
to  regulate  the  spacing  of  the  punched  holes,  to  represent  the 
letters  of  the  message. 

Mr.  Bain's  plan  was  perfectly  successful  so  far  as  it  went ; 
but  it  was  found  that,  after  the  quick  receipt  in  cipher  of  a 
long  dispatch,  it  would  take  about  as  long  to  copy  it  into  man- 
uscript, as  it  would  to  transmit  it  by  the  ordinary  mode. 

Another  desirable  object  to  attain  in  telegraphing  would 
be,  to  send  a  fac-simile  copy  of  a  man's  handwriting,  with  his 
signature.  At  present,  important  and  confidential  business 
transactions  are  seldom  confided  to  the  telegraph,  from  the  dif- 
ficulty of  knowing  whether  a  name  attached  to  an  order  to  sell 
and  buy  bills  of  exchange,  to  accept  or  pay  notes,  or  to  ad- 
vance money,  is  genuine.  Mistakes  in  figures  or  modes  of  ex- 
pression are  also  much  feared,  and  not  without  reason,  as  ex- 
perience in  some  cases  has  proven. 

Mr.  Bain  was  the  first  to  suggest  a  plan  for  making  fac- 
simile communications.  Mr.  Bakewell,  of  England,  also  made 
a  similar  attempt  to  do  the  same  thing,  by  contriving  ma- 
chinery which  resembled  a  modification  of  that  used  by  Mr. 
Bain  in  his  experiments.  A  notice  of  Mr.  Bakewell's  plan, 
with  specimens  of  writing  performed  by  it,  was  published  in 
the  London  Illustrated  News,  in  1850. 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  151 

The  mode  of  operating  by  each  was  something  after  this 
fashion.  Imagine  a  metallic  cylinder  about  eight  or  ten  inches 
in  diameter,  and  twenty-four  inches  long,  arranged  to  revolve 
slowly  on  its  axis  by  clock-work,  and  which  works  in  the  cir- 
cuit of  the  electric  fluid  at  one  end  of  a  telegraph  wire  ;  while 
with  the  other  end  of  the  wire  a  Bain's  instrument  is  con- 
nected, and  moved  with  precisely  the  same  velocity.  The 
smooth  outer  surface  of  the  cylinder  may  have  a  message  writ- 
ten on  it,  in  a  non-conducting  fluid  or  material.  The  writing 
may  be  made  to  encircle  the  cylinder  in  manuscript  lines,  and 
conclude  with  the  signature  of  the  author.  Now,  when  this 
cylinder  is  made  to  revolve  with  its  written  surface  in  contact 
with  a  fine  conducting  point,  it  is  clear,  that  every  time  the 
point  crosses  the  writing,  the  circuit  will  be  broken,  and  while 
in  contact  with  the  cylinder,  between  the  spaces  of  the  letters, 
the  fluid  will  pass,  and  produce  continuous  black  marks  on  the 
revolving  chemically  prepared  paper  in  the  instrument  at  the 
opposite  end  of  the  wire.  When  finished,  the  whole  commu- 
nication will  appear  on  the  chemical  paper,  in  blank  letters. 

The  great  objection  to  the  plans  of  both  Bain  and  Bake- 
well,  arises  from  the  extreme  slowness  with  which  the  messa- 
ges are  sent,  not  even  equalling  in  speed  any  of  the  methods 
now  in  use. 

The  subject  a  year  or  two  since  engaged  our  thoughts,  and 
we  devised  a  plan  to  accomplish  the  same  object,  in  a  manner 
which  will  secure  extraordinary  rapidity  of  communication ; 
and  yet,  so  arranged  as  to  produce  fac-simile  manuscript  letters 
and  signatures,  and  with  figures  of  all  kinds,  beyond  the  pos- 
sibility of  mistake  in  transmitting  it.  Not  only  so,  but  to  send 
rapidly  printed  matter.  By  our  method,  we  proposed  to  send 
from  600  to  1000  words  per  minute. 

Besides,  our  plan,  like  Bain's  and  Bakewell's,  can  be  made 
to  send  small  maps,  plans  of  houses  or  vessels,  &c,  as  wel]  as 
profile  likenesses  of  the  human  face,  or  the  full  length  outlines 
of  the  human  figure. 

Such  a  plan,  once  put  in  operation,  might  be  found  useful 
for  municipal  purposes. 

Thus,  by  having  the  likeness  of  a  rogue,  or  a  close  descrip- 


152  HISTOKICAL  SKETCH   OF 

tion  of  his  figure  and  height,  a  profile  representation  of  his  per- 
sonal appearance  could  be  sent  forward  in  advance  of  his 
flight,  and  copies  of  it  dropped  at  all  the  telegraph  way  stations 
through  the  country. 

We  entered  a  caveat  some  time  ago  in  favor  of  our  pro- 
posed improvement ;  but  the  want  of  spare  capital  and  leisure 
to  mature  it,  has  prevented  us  so  far  from  making  any  attempt 
to  bring  it  into  public  use. 

Electro- Magnetic  Lochs. 

It  has  occurred  to  us  that  electricity  might  be  applied  to 
the  formation  of  electro-magnetic  locks.  They  could  be  made 
in  a  simple  manner,  and  add  greatly  to  the  security  of  build- 
ings and  vaults.  We  have  not  space  to  give  our  ideas  precisely, 
as  to  the  best  mechanical  arrangements  to  secure  the  end  in 
view;  but  in  a  general  way  we  may  say,  that  the  object  might 
possibly  be  accomplished  by  some  plan  similar  to  the  fol- 
lowing. 

A  small  battery  (portable  if  preferred),  might  be  used  to 
form  a  strong  electro-magnet.  This,  when  placed  near  the  end 
or  brought  in  contact  with  a  strong  door- bolt,  resting  horizon- 
tally or  perpendicularly,  would  exercise  sufficient  attractive 
force  to  withdraw  it  while  the  electric  fluid  should  be  passing ; 
and  when  the  circuit  should  be  broken,  a  spring  might  throw 
the  bolt  back  in  its  first  position,  the  door  being  opened  in  the 
mean  time.  A  door  might  be  secured  with  all  the  ordinary 
locks  in  use,  and  yet  inside  them  all  there  might  be  a  secret 
electro-magnetic  bolt  which  no  key  could  find,  and  which 
could  only  be  known  to  and  removed  by  those  duly  initiated, 
and  having  the  control  of  the  necessary  portable  battery  and 
electro-magnet,  and  which  might  be  removed  from  the  build- 
ing previous  to  locking  the  outside  doors.  Not  only  so,  but 
wires  could,  if  necessary,  be  conducted  from  the  lock  to  any 
other  apartment  in  the  building,  or  to  a  sleeping  room ;  and 
in  case  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  force  a  lock,  an 
alarm  could  be  communicated  to  the  apartments  by  ringing  a 
bell.     In  another  supposable  case,  a  merchant  or  banker  living 


THE  ELECTEIO  TELEGKAPH.  153 

up  town,  if  disposed,  could  have  wires  conveyed  from  the 
locks  on  his  vaults  or  doors  in  "Wall  Street,  to  his  sleeping 
room,  which  could  be  made  to  convey  audible  intelligence  of 
any  attempt  made  to  force  an  entrance.  We  do  not  offer  this 
idea  as  ever  likely  to  be  adopted  in  practice,  but  merely  to 
show  the  great  variety  of  novel  purposes  to  which  electricity 
may  be  applied. 

As  to  electro-magnetic  locks,  the  mechanical  contrivances 
may  be  diversified  to  a  great  extent,  and  ultimate  experience 
will  only  show  how  the  thing  can  best  be  effected.  The  sim- 
ple enunciation  of  such  a  proposed  improvement  or  novelty, 
is  all  we  have  to  do  with  the  subject  at  present,  reserving  to 
ourselves  the  right  hereafter,  to  secure  our  claims  by  a  patent 
if  we  think  proper. 

New  applications  of  electricity  must  continue  to  occur,  so 
long  as  the  mind  of  man  values  the  truths  of  science,  or  seeks 
to  apply  them  to  the  progress  and  happiness  of  the  race. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

USE  OF  THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH  IN  THE  CALCULATION  OP 
LONGITUDE— MUNICIPAL  TELEGRAPHS  IN  CITIES  AND  TOWNS 
—APPLICATION  OF  ELECTRICITY  TO  BLASTING  AND  SUBMA- 
RINE EXPLOSIONS. 

The  first  experiments  made  to  ascertain  longitude  by  the  use 
of  the  electric  telegraph,  were  tried  in  the  United  States.  As 
the  electric  fluid  passes  in  an  instant  over  the  longest  wire 
that  can  be  built,  even  should  it  "  girdle  the  earth,"  it  is  evi- 
dent that  it  must  beat  the  flight  of  time.  The  revolution  of 
the  earth  causes  fifteen  degrees  on  its  surface  to  pass  under  the 
sun's  meridian  in  an  hour.  When  it  is  twelve  o'clock  in  New- 
York,  it  is  only  eleven  A.  M.  at  a  point  fifteen  degrees  west 
of  it.  So  that  if  a  dispatch  should  leave  New- York  at  twelve 
o'clock,  it  would  be  received  at  fifteen  degrees  west  of  it,  one 
hour  before  twelve  o'clock.  Between  New- York  and  San  Fran- 
cisco about  fifty  degrees  of  longitude  intervene,  making  a 
difference  of  time  equal  to  three  hours  and  twenty  minutes. 
Hence,  were  a  message  sent  from  New- York  at  twelve,  and 
could  it  reach  San  Francisco  at  once,  it  would  beat  time  three 
hours  and  twenty  minutes,  or  arrive  there  at  8h.  40m.  A.  M. 
If  a  similar  current  could  pass  round  the  world  without  inter- 
ruption, to  the  point  of  beginning,  it  would  of  course  beat 
time  a  whole  day  or  twenty  four  hours ;  passing  360  degrees 
of  the  earth's  surface  in  less  than  one  second  of  time. 

If  a  delicately  constituted  clock  with  a  hand  to  denote  se- 
conds, and  its  divisions  in  hundredths,  be  placed  in  a  telegraph 
office  before  an  observer  in  New- York,  and  a  similar  clock  be 
placed  at  the  other  end  of  a  telegraph  line  in  St.  Louis,  with  an 
observer  there,  it  is  only  necessary  to  make  the  closing  and 


THE  ELECTEIC  TELEGRAPH.  155 

breaking  the  circuit  in  New- York  correspond  with  the  move- 
ments of  the  second  hand  of  the  clock  in  St.  Louis  (or  a  good 
chronometer  may  be  used  by  each  party),  to  denote  the  differ- 
ence in  time  between  the  two  places  in  seconds,  or  fractional  se- 
conds, which  would  indicate  with  great  precision  the  exact  differ- 
ence of  longitude  between  the  two  cities.  Mr.  Lock,  of  Cincinna- 
ti, contrived  some  ingenious  machinery  for  the  purpose  of  mea- 
suring seconds  of  time,  with  its  divisions,  to  be  recorded  by  the 
electric  telegraph  on  fillets  of  paper,  with  a  view  of  ascertain- 
ing longitude.  It  was  first  tried  on  the  telegraph  line  between 
Cincinnati  and  Pittsburg,  and  was  said  to  work  successfully. 

The  officers  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey  next  made  experi- 
ments on  long  lines  of  telegraph  wires,  for  the  purpose  of  deter- 
mining longitude,  and  which  proved  very  satisfactory.  They 
made  a  report  of  their  experiments  in  1848.  They  state  that 
they  regard  "  The  value  of  a  night's  work  with  a  transit  in- 
strument, by  the  printing  method,  as  about  ten  times  greater 
than  by  the  method  now  in  use  among  astronomers."  "  This 
year"  (1848)  "  we  made  abundant  experiments  on  the  line  from 
Philadelphia  to  Louisville,  a  distance  in  the  air  of  900  miles, 
and  in  a  circuit  of  1,800  miles.  The  performance  of  this  long 
line  was  better  than  any  of  the  shorter  lines  has  hitherto 
been. 

"  Not  more  than  two  or  three  good  astronomical  nights  at 
Cincinnati  were  lost,  by  the  failure  of  any  part  of  the  line,  in 
the  period  of  two  months  of  our  stay  at  Cincinnati.  I  learn 
from  an  authentic  source,  that  the  same  success  attends  the 
work  from  Philadelphia  to  St.  Louis — a  distance  of  circuit  one- 
twelfth  of  the  earth's  circumference.  Great  as  this  distance  is, 
an  attempt  is  to  be  made  to  exceed  it  as  soon  as  circumstances 
permit,  on  the  line  from  Halifax  to  New  Orleans,  in  determi- 
nations of  longitude."  , 

Lieut.  Charles  Wilkes,  of  the  late  U.  S.  Exploring  Expedi- 
tion, was  the  first  to  experiment  with  the  electric  telegraph  to 
determine  longitude,  which  he  did  in  1844,  on  the  Morse  line 
between  Washington  and  Baltimore,  gauging  the  time  by 
chronometers.  The  result  was,  that  he  ascertained  the  Battle 
Monument  in  Baltimore  to  be  1'  34".  868  east  of  the  Capitol. — 


156  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

(See  Capt  Wilkes's  Letter  in  Mr.  Tail's  Book  on  the  Magnetic 
Telegraph,  p.  60.) 

The  idea  of  applying  an  electric  telegraph  to  the  determi- 
nation of  longitude,  must  have  been  almost  coincident  with  the 
thought  of  producing  such  communication  at  all ;  yet  it  is  grat- 
ifying to  know  that  the  first,  most  extensive  and  successful 
experiments  on  the  subject,  have  been  made  in  the  United 
States. 

The  subject  we  find  has,  since  the  experiments  made  by 
the  members  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey,  attracted  much  atten- 
tion in  England.  In  Chambers's  Papers  for  the  People,  vol. 
ix.,  1851,  the  author  says : 

"  This  method  of  observing  is  regarded  by  the  Astronomer  Royal  as 
of  so  much  importance,  that  he  proposes  its  use  at  Greenwich.  *  In  dis- 
cussing this  subject  before  the  Astronomical  Society,  he  explained  that, 
'  In  ordinary  transit  observations,  the  observer  listens  to  the  beat  of  a 
clock,  while  he  views  the  heavenly  bodies  passing  across  the  wires  of 
the  telescope ;  and  he  combines  the  two  senses  of  hearing  and  sight 
(usually  by  noticing  the  place  of  the  body  at  each  beat  of  the  clock) 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  enabled  to  compute  mentally  the  fraction  of 
a  second  when  the  object  passes  each  wire,  and  he  then  writes  down 
the  time  in  an  observing  book.  In  these  new  methods  (electric),  he 
has  no  clock  near  him,  or  at  least  none  to  which  he  listens :  he  ob- 
serves with  his  eye  the  appulse  of  the  object  to  the  wire,  and  at  that 
instant  he  touches  an  index  or  key  with  his  finger ;  and  this  touch 
makes,  by  means  of  a  galvanic  current,  an  impression  upon  some  re- 
cording apparatus  (perhaps  at  a  great  distance),  by  which  the  fact  and 
the  time  of  the  observation  are  registered.' 

"  The  experience  hitherto  obtained  of  the  new  method,  shows  that, 
in  what  are  termed  '  irregularities'  in  observation,  the  amount  '  is  only 
about  one  fourth'  of  that  which  occurs  with  the  old  method  ;  whether 
because  the  sympathy  between  the  eye  and  the  finger  is  more  lively  than 
between  the  eye  and  the  ear,  remains  to  be  determined.  The  Astro- 
nomer Royal  proposes  to  use  the  *  centrifugal  or  conical  pendulum 
clock,'  as  an  instrument  superior  in  every  way  to  those  used  in  America ; 
and  '  considering,'  as  he  states,  '  the  problem  of  smooth  and  accurate 
motion  as  being  now  much  nearer  to  its  solution  than  it  had  formerly 
been,  it  might  be  a  question  whether,  supposing  a  sidereal  clock  made 


THE   ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  157 

on  these  principles  to  be  mounted  at  the  Royal  Observatory,  it  should 
be  used  in  communicating  motion  to  a  solar  clock.  It  might  by  some 
persons  be  thought  advantageous,  even  now,  that  the  drop  of  the  signal 
ball  (at  one  hour  Greenwich  mean  solar  time)  should  be  effected  by 
clock  machinery  ;  and  it  is  quite  within  possibility  that  a  time  signal 
may  be  sent  from  the  Royal  Observatory  to  different  parts  of  the  king- 
dom, at  certain  mean  solar  hours,  every  day  by  the  galvanic  current, 
regulated  by  clock  machinery.' " 

We  formerly  suggested  in  the  Journal  of  Commerce  (1848), 
that  balls  might  be  made  to  drop,  or  cannon  fired  in  all  the 
principal  ports  of  the  United  States,  by  means  of  the  electric 
current,  the  moment  the  sun  attained  meridian  at  the  National 
Observatory  at  Washington,  by  which  chronometers  could  be 
regulated  at  various  places,  at  the  same  time  daily. 

At  Boston  the  true  time  is  said  to  be  received  every  day 
from  the  Cambridge  Observatory,  four  miles  distant,  for  the 
service  of  the  shipping  in  the  harbor. 

It  has  been  proposed  in  England,  to  apply  the  telegraph  to 
measure  the  fluctuations  in  the  barometer  and  thermometer,  by 
sending  up  a  balloon  prepared  with  instruments,  in  connection 
with  a  galvanic  wire,  the  ground  end  of  which  is  connected 
with  a  recording  instrument.  It  is  said  an  interesting  experi- 
ment was  made  in  reference  to  this  subject  by  Mr.  Smee, 
chemist  to  the  Bank  of  England. 

The  mysterious  influence  of  the  aurora  borealis  on  tele- 
graph lines  has  been  noticed  in  this  country,  and  also  by  ob- 
servers in  Europe  ;  among  whom  was  M.  Matteucci,  who  no- 
ticed its  effects  on  the  apparatus  of  the  electric  telegraph  line 
between  Eavenna  and  Pisa,  in  November,  1850.  The  follow- 
ing extract  from  the  Philadelphia  Ledger  refers  to  the  effects 
of  an  aurora,  observed  in  September,  1851.  These  facts  prove 
the  truth  of  Dr.  Franklin's  original  theory,  that  the  aurora  bo- 
realis is  identical  with  the  nature  of  electricity,  or  is,  in  reali- 
ty, simply  an  electrical  manifestation  : 

"  The  aurora  borealis,  visible  on  Wednesday  and  Thursday  nights 
last,  was  the  most  brilliant  and  remarkable  exhibition  of  the  kind  noticed 
here  for  years,  and  was  attended  with  some  very  singular  phenomena.  On 


158  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

Wednesday  morning  an  unusual  appearance  of  atmospheric  electricity 
was  manifest  on  all  the  telegraph  lines  radiating  from  Philadelphia, 
east,  west,  and  south,  which  continued  more  or  less  till  Thursday  eve- 
ning. At  times  there  was  a  powerful  current  upon  the  wires,  sustained 
for  minutes,  then  it  would  diminish  to  nothing,  and  the  current  from 
the  batteries  cease  to  have  any  effect  on  the  magnet.  It  came  not  in 
flits  and  flashes,  as  is  the  case  during  thunder  storms,  but  would  emit 
a  steady  spark  for  seconds,  and  even  minutes.  During  this  time  the 
weather  was  cold  and  remarkably  clear.  The  same  effect  was  noticed 
in  other  cities.  In  Boston,  it  is  said,  there  was  sufficient  electricity  to 
supply  the  telegraph  wires  without  employing  the  batteries." 

Municipal  Telegraphs. 

♦Among  other  important  applications  of  the  electric  tele- 
graph, is  its  employment  for  municipal  purposes.  It  can  be 
used  in  cities  as  police  station  signals,  and  for  giving  fire  alarms, 
by  ringing  bells.  The  subject  has  attracted  much  attention  in 
Boston.  Dr.  W.  E.  Channing  of  that  city  called  public  atten- 
tion to  it  in  the  columns  of  the  Daily  Advertiser  in  1845.  The 
subject  excited  no  great  attention  until  March,  1851,  when  Dr. 
Channing  submitted  plans  and  estimates  for  erecting  municipal 
telegraphs  to  the  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  mayor  of  Boston, 
who  recommended  their  adoption  by  the  city  authorities.  In 
June  following,  the  corporation  appropriated  $10,000  to  carry 
the  object  into  effect.  * 

In  1851  the  city  of  New- York  connected  its  eight  bell 
towers  with  each,  other,  and  with  the  central  tower  or  belfry 
over  the  City  Hall,  by  a  telegraph,  wire.  This,  however,  was 
simply  used  to  signalize  an  alarm  of  fire,  having  no  interme- 
diate connections,  and  had  no  power  to  ring  fire-bells  from  the 
central  station. 

It  is  said,  that  fire  alarm  telegraphs  have  recently  been 
erected  in  Berlin  by  Mr.  Simons,  lieutenant  of  engineers,  but 
whether  similar  to  the  simple  plan  adopted  in  New- York,  is 
unknown. 

The  system  for  a  municipal  telegraph,  proposed  by  Dr. 
Channing,  is  much  more  comprehensive  and  complete  than  any 
other  ever  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  public— (See  his  ac- 


THE   ELECTKIC  TELEGRAPH.  159 

count  of  it  in  vol.  xiii.,  no.  37,  p.  58,  of  Sillimarfs  Journal  of 
Science  and  Arts,  Second  Series.) 

It  is  evident  that,  if  various  towns,  widely  scattered  over  a 
state  or  continent,  can  be  brought  into  speedy  communication 
by  the  agency  of  the  electric  telegraph,  that  all  the  central 
stations  of  city  wards  and  fire-bells  of  a  large  city  can  be 
brought  into  instantaneous  connection.  With  properly  con- 
trived instruments,  the  twenty  police  stations  of  the  twenty 
wards  and  eight  bell  towers  of  New- York,  can  be  put  into 
speedy  and  reliable  communication  at  any  moment. 

Municipal  and  fire  alarm  bell  electric  telegraphs  could  be, 
if  necessary,  extended  so  as  to  embrace  Brooklyn,  Wil- 
liamsburg, Ward's  Island  and  Harlem,  and,  if  required,  be 
made  to  include  hospital  and  coroners'  calls.  They  could  also 
be  made  to  embrace  all  the  important  points  in  cities  as  large 
as  Paris  or  London.  Wherever  employed,  they  will  impart 
great  additional  power  to  police  forces,  as  the  whole  could  at 
any  moment  be  brought  to  act  in  concert. 

During  disturbances  in  a  city  like  Paris,  they  would  no 
doubt  be  found  very  important  aids  in  the  hands  of  the  police, 
in  controlling  and  suppressing  popular  outbreaks. 

The  plan  of  the  Boston  Municipal  Telegraph  described  by 
Dr.  Channing  is  quite  elaborate,  and  is  illustrated  by  a  number 
of  woodcuts.  We  have  not  space  to  go  into  details  regarding 
his  system,  which  may  for  each  city  be  greatly  varied.  It  is 
sufficient  to  say,  in  general  terms,  that  for  the  contrivance  of 
many  of  the  instruments  he  employed,  he  was  indebted  to 
Moses  G.  Farmer,  Esq.,  Electric  Telegraph  Engineer  of  that 
city,  and  under  whose  supervision  the  system  was  carried  into 
effect.  A  central  office  or  station  is  fixed  upon,  at  which  the 
main  battery,  with  other  instruments,  is  placed.  From  this 
two  circuit  wires  proceed,  like  those  of  the  common  telegraph 
wires,  fastened  to  house-tops  on  ingeniously  insulated  supports. 
One  of  the  wires  communicates  from  the  main  fire-bell  tower 
to  all  the  others,  and  connects  each  with  machinery,  which 
puts  in  motion  the  largest  sized  hammer,  and  causes  it  to  strike 
a  large  fire-bell  the  desired  number  of  blows.  The  other  wire 
proceeds  on  a  still  more  circuitous  route,  and  from  one  local 


160  HISTOKICAL  SKETCH  OF 

street  or  ward  signal  station  to  another.  Each  station  is  pro- 
vided with  a  strong  box,  and  hinged  door  and  lock.  Inside 
of  this  box,  there  is  a  connecting  electro-magnet  and  connecting 
lever,  an  axle,  with  a  number  of  pins  in  it,  to  correspond  with 
the  number  of  the  station.  The  axle  is  turned  by  a  short 
crank,  and  in  its  revolutions  the  pins  break  and  close  the  cir- 
cuit, by  moving  the  end  of  the  lever  as  often  as  there  are  pins 
or  cogs,  the  result  of  which  is  communicated  to  the  central 
station.  If  the  alarm  indicates  a  fire  in  the  local  district  No. 
3,  the  alarm  can  be  instantly  rung  on  all  the  bells  in  the  city. 
If  it  is  a  subject  requiring  the  speedy  and  efficient  attention 
of  the  police,  information  by  alarms  can  be  given  at  each  police 
station,  or  the  dispatches  can  be  recorded  by  instruments  at 
each  place.  The  local  street  alarm  boxes  are  to  be  placed  in 
charge  of  a  person,  whose  duty  it  will  be  to  give  the  alarm 
from  the  local  to  the  central  station  when  called  upon,  or  cir- 
cumstances require  him  to  do  so.  The  instruments  contrived 
by  Mr.  Farmer  for  local  alarm  stations,  for  isolating  wires  on 
house-tops,  and  for  ringing  large  fire-bells  by  the  action  of 
electro-magnetism,  in  combination  with  strong  clock-work  and 
weights,  are  very  ingenious,  and  some  of  which  he  has  patented. 
Any  number  of  alarm-stations  can  be  arranged  by  attach- 
ing a  corresponding  number  of  pins  or  cogs,  to  the  axle,  in 
each  box,  moved  by  a  crank,  to  break  and  close  the  circuit. 
The  time  will  likely  soon  arrive  when  no  city  will  be  without 
its  fire-alarm  and  municipal  telegraphs. 

Fire-alarm  Whistle. 

We  have  for  some  time  suggested  that  a  fire-alarm,  similar 
to  a  railroad  whistle,  would  be  better  adapted  for  city  use 
than  bells.  Instead  of  steam,  they  would  be  worked  by  the 
force  of  condensed  air,  like  DaboWs  fog-alarm.  Whistles  of  this 
description  can  at  all  times  be  heard  at  a  much  greater  distance 
than  bells,  and  cost  a  great  deal  less.  To  render  them  more  effi- 
cient, and  to  give  them  such  a  sound  or  tone  as  to  distinguish 
them  from  ordinary  locomotive  whistles — which  are  now 
heard  in  the  suburbs  of  nearly  all  cities — we  propose  to 
change  the  form  of  the  bell-cap.     That  is,  not  only  to  give 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  161 

them  greater  diameter,  but  to  increase  their  length,  so  as  to 
augment  the  sound.  Instead  of  metal,  the  bell-cap  might  be 
formed  of  glass,  which  possesses  a  high  degree  of  sonorous- 
ness. These  whistles  could  be  worked  by  hand,  or  by  the  elec- 
tric telegraph. 

We  find  whistles  have  also  been  alluded  to  and  recom- 
mended, by  Dr.  Channing,  as  fire-alarms ;  but  no  allusion  is 
made  as  to  the  possibility  of  improving  or  increasing  their 
sound  by  partially  changing  their  structure,  or  by  the  adop- 
tion of  more  sonorous  materials. 

Whistles  can  be  sounded  as  readily  by  the  electric  tele- 
graph, as  ordinary  fire-bells ;  and  a  plan  for  thus  working 
them  has  been  proposed  by  Mr.  Farmer — a  diagram  of  which 
has  been  given  by  Dr.  Channing,  in  his  paper  referred  to. 
The  letting  on  or  shutting  off  the  air,  however,  from  the  whis- 
tle, by  the  mechanical  action  of  electro-magnetism,  can  be 
effected  by  a  variety  of  methods. 

A  marine  whistle,  moored  over  a  rock,  or  shoal  at  sea,  or 
in  a  harbor,  can  also  be  worked  at  will  from  shore  (after 
having  the  air-receiver  previously  charged — say  in  daylight, 
or  calm  weather),  by  connecting  it  with  the  land  by  a  sub- 
marine telegraph  wire  of  any  required  length.  Instead  of 
having  a  man  on  shore  to  give  the  alarms,  they  could  be  pro- 
duced by  a  train  of  clock-work  on  land,  to  close  and  break 
the  circuit,  and  thus  keep  the  whistle  sounding.  The  number 
of  sounds  would  indicate  precisely  the  character  of  the  spot 
thus  guarded.  Yessels  crossing  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland 
in  dense  fogs,  in  order  to  prevent  collisions,  ought  also  to  carry 
air-whistles  to  be  worked  by  hand. 

Dr.  Channing  estimated  the  municipal  wires  of  Boston  at 
forty-nine  miles  in  length,  and  the  cost  of  them  already  put 
up  at  $68.72  per  mile ;  and  one  single  set  of  machines,  in- 
cluding one  striking  apparatus,  at  $268. 

To  erect  a  substantial  municipal  telegraph  for  New- York, 
to  embrace  police-stations  and  fire-alarms,  would  probably  cost 
from  $25,000  to  $30,000.  If  whistles  should  be  used  instead 
of  bells,  for  fire-alarms,  the  expense  would  be  less.  The 
management  of  the  whole,  when  in  operation,  would  not  cost 
11 


162  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

any  more,  if  as  much,  than  the  present  defective  system.  Ex- 
perience has  shown  that  wires,  carried  over  the  tops  of  houses, 
are  less  liable  to  interruption  than  when  carried  through  cities 
on  poles. 

Blasting  and  Submarine  Explosions,  by  Electricity. 

Though  not  immediately  connected  with  telegraphs,  yet 
the  important  application  of  electricity  to  the  explosion  of 
powder,  deserves  a  passing  notice.  We  believe  that  it  was 
Dr.  Hare,  of  Philadelphia,  who  first  proposed  to  apply  gal- 
vanic electricity  to  the  blasting  of  rock  —  which  was  some 
twenty-five  or  thhi;y  years  since  ;  and  he  indicated  the  proper 
kind  of  instruments  to  be  used  for  the  purpose. 

When  the  safety  and  convenience  of  blasting  by  electricity 
is  considered,  it  is  strange  that  its  employment  has  not  be- 
come more  universal.  It  is  more  certain  than  the  common 
fuse ;  and  the  operator  can,  in  firing  his  charge,  choose  any 
distance  he  pleases,  by  merely  adding  to  the  length  of  the 
wire. 

Another  more  important  application  of  the  electric  current, 
in  producing  explosions,  may  be  noticed.  Almost  coeval  with 
the  discovery  of  the  fact  that  powder  could  be  exploded  on 
land  by  electricity,  it  has  been  known  that  it  also  could  be 
made  to  explode  it  under  water.  And  it  was  not  long  before 
experiments  were  tried,  both  in  England  and  this  country. 
Old  vessels  were  moored  off  shore,  and  blown  up  by  kegs  of 
powder  fastened  to  their  bottoms. 

A  more  useful  application  of  submarine  explosion  has 
been  made  to  the  removal  of  rocks  from  harbors  and  the  chan- 
nels of  rivers,  which  obstruct  navigation.  In  those  cases 
where  a  proper  depth  of  water  is  found  resting  above  the 
rock,  a  large  canister  of  powder,  with  electrical  wires  at- 
tached to  it,  is  sunk  by  weights  until  it  rest  on  the  surface  of 
the  rock.  The  superincumbent  weight  of  the  water  acts  as  a 
powerful  lever  on  the  force  of  the  powder,  so  that,  when  it  is 
exploded  by  the  electric  spark,  its  greatest  force  is  exerted 
downwards  on  the  face  of  the  rock,  cracking,  or  rending,  or 
tearing  it  into  fragments.     By  repeating  the  explosions,  the 


THE    ELECTRIC   TELEGRAPH. 


163 


largest  and  most  dangerous  rocks  that  may  have  been  the 
terror  of  sailors,  and  defied  the  power  of  man  for  centuries, 
are  completely  removed !  The  recent  successful  demolition 
of  Pot-Eock,  at  Hurlgate,  by  Professor  Maillefort,  is  still  fresh 
in  the  public  mind.  In  the  course  of  his  operations,  he  met 
with  a  solitary  accident,  which,  however,  was  of  an  unfortu- 
nate and  fatal  character ;  two  of  his  men  having  lost  their 
lives.  The  occurrence,  however,  was  not  the  fault  of  the  elec- 
trical fluid.  The  Professor,  with  one  or  two  assistants,  were 
indebted  to  a  Francis'  metallic  life-boat — in  which  they  hap- 
j)ened  to  be  seated  at  the  time  of  the  explosion — for  the  safety 
of  their  lives. 

In  producing  ignition  by  the  galvanic  current,  it  is  neces- 
sary, as  in  the  ordinary  telegraph  line,  to  use  a  receiving  mag- 
net, which  shall  complete  the  circuit  of  a  local  battery,  near 
the  spot  where  the  rock  is  to  be  blasted.  This  is  represented 
in  the  following  cut : 

Fig.  7. 


An  operator  is  seen  at  a  distance  with  the  wires  extending 
to  a  receiving  magnet,  A  A,  which  is  constructed  on  the  axial 


164  HISTOKICAL   SKETCH   OF 

principle,  and  serves  to  complete  the  circuit  for  the  single  cup 
at  B,  which  is  to  ignite  the  charge  in  the  neighboring  rocks. 

Electricity  in  Warfare. 

In  future  wars  between  civilized  nations,  which  we  trust 
are  very  remote,  electricity,  like  steam,  must  play  an  impor- 
tant part.  By  its  agency,  not  only  can  intelligence  be  made  to 
fly  from  camp  to  camp,  and  from  army  to  army,  but  mines 
can  be  sprung — works  blown  up — heavy  ordnance  fired — rock- 
ets and  shells  discharged,  and  submarine  powder  batteries  ex- 
ploded against  hostile  fleets.  All  this  it  can  be  made  to  do, 
with  terrible  efficiency  and  effect. 

To  blow  up  vessels  in  deep  water,  however,  it  will  require 
that  the  charges  of  powder,  unless  in  immense  quantities, 
should  be  immersed  but  a  short  depth  below  the  surface  of 
the  water.  A  moderate  charge  exploded  on  the  bottom  of  a 
harbor  or  river,  would  produce  very  little,  if  any,  effect  on  the 
surface.  This  we  ascertained  by  experiments  made  with  sub- 
marine shells,  some  years  ago,  which  were  exploded  by  the 
action  of  the  water,  of  itself,  on  coming  in  contact  with  it,  and 
without  the  agency  of  electricity. 

We  have  also  thought  it  possible  that,  by  a  portable  small 
compact  electro-galvanic  apparatus,  combined  in  some  way 
with  the  breech  or  stock  of  a  gun,  so  as  the  lock,  in  cocking 
and  firing,  should  break  and  close  the  circuit,  whereby  the 
electric  spark  given  off  would  discharge  the  gun,  and  thus  the 
expense,  as  well  as  the  inconvenience,  of  handling  the  present 
percussion  caps  would  be  got  rid  of  altogether. 

No  doubt  exists  that  any  number  of  cannon  can  be  instan- 
taneously fired  by  the  electric  current.  Such  an  arrangement 
would  enable  a  74  gun  ship,  if  desired,  to  pour  her  whole 
broadside,  at  the  same  instant  of  time,  into  an  enemy's  ship  of 
war !  and,  moreover,  the  whole  of  them  could  be  set  off  by  the 
finger  of  a  single  man,  depressing  a  key  to  start  the  electric 
flash! 

We  might  be  expected,  when  alluding  to  new  applications 
of  electricity  and  electro-magnetism,  to  refer  to  the  present 


THE   ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH. 


165 


state,  progress  and  prospects  of  electro-magnetic  mechanical 
power,  and  especially  to  the  experiments  of  Professor  Page. 
The  design  of  our  work  has  been  to  treat  of  electricity, 
chiefly  in  its  relations  in  some  way  to  electric  telegraphs. 
Where  we  have  digressed,  it  has  been  to  speak  of  applications 
reduced  to  practice,  or  to  make  new  suggestions  for  its  employ- 
ment for  other  and  novel  purposes. 

Dr.  Page  has  been  liberally  patronized  by  the  United 
States'  government,  Congress  having  made  liberal  appropria- 
tions to  enable  him  to  bring  his  Axial  Electro-Telegraph  En- 
gine into  use.  Although  he  has  succeeded  in  producing  striking 
and  wonderful  results,  yet  it  would  seem  that  his  machinery  is 
not  sufficiently  matured  to  warrant  its  employment  as  a  reliable 
and  economical  power.  Some  difficulties  probably  yet  stand 
in  the  way  of  success,  which  future  discoveries  and  experience 
may  overcome.  Those  who  wish  to  learn  more  regarding  Dr. 
Page's  labors  will  find  them  described  in  various  scientific  pub- 
lications of  the  day. 

Were  we  to  indulge  in  digressions,  we  might  name  a  vast 
number  of  other  cases  in  which  electricity  is  usefully  employed, 
not  the  least  of  which  is  that  of  the  Electrotype,  or  Electro- 
Metallurgy  ;  but  such  digression  would  be  out  of  place  in  a 
work  of  this  description. 

We  here  give  a  second  engraving  of  House's  Printing 
Telegraph,  which  exhibits  some  parts  of  its  ingenious  mechan- 
ism, not  visible  in  the  first. 


n 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

FOREIGN  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPHS— THEIR  RISE  AND  PROGRESS 
IN  EUROPE— EXTENT  OF  LINES,  AND  PLANS  OF  CONSTRUC- 
TION, AND  METHODS    OF  OPERATING  THEM. 

We  have  found  some  difficulty  in  procuring  foreign  publica- 
tions which  treated  fully  of  the  history  of  Electric  'Telegraphs, 
and  especially  in  reference  to  their  present  extent  and  condi- 
tion in  Europe.  The  fullest  account  we  have  been  able  to  ob- 
tain, is  contained  in  Chambers's  Papers  for  the  People,  vol.  ix., 
published  in  the  autumn  of  1851. 

As  far  as  our  researches  have  gone  regarding  European 
accounts  of  the  present  extent  and  condition  of  Electric  Tele- 
graphs, they  appear  very  deficient  in  respect  to  their  know- 
ledge of  their  rise  and  progress  in  the  United  States. 

We  were  surprised  on  reading  the  article  referred  to,  in 
Chambers's  Papers  for  the  People,  and  which  purports  to  be  a 
kind  of  regular  history  of  the  Electric  Telegraph,  to  find  the 
author  had  omitted  all  notice  of  Professor  Joseph  Henry's 
valuable  discoveries  in  Electro-Magnetism  ;  and  that  no  men- 
tion is  made  even  of  his  name.  Moreover,  the  valuable  and 
exceedingly  ingenious  Printing  Telegraph  of  R.  E.  House  is 
nowhere  referred  to. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected,  perhaps,  that  a  foreign  author 
should  be  well  acquainted  with  the  extent,  cost  and  manage- 
ment of  our  lines ;  but,  as  House  had  taken  out  patents  in 
Europe,  and  had  had  his  machine  in  practical  operation  in  the 
United  States  from  two  to  three  years  before  the  publication 
of  the  paper  referred  to,  it  is  strange  his  invention  was  not  al- 
luded to.  Professor  Henry's  valuable  experiments  in  Electro- 
Magnetism  were  published  in  Silliman's  Journal  as  early  as 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  167 

1831,  and  had  been  before  the  scientific  world  for  about  twen- 
ty years  ;  yet  no  allusion  is  made  to  him  or  his  discoveries,  in 
Chambers's  " Electric  Communications"  or  History  of  Electric 
Telegraphs. 

We  take  the  following  extracts  relating  to  Electric  Tele- 
graphs in  Europe  from  Chambers's  work  previously  referred 
to.  He  commences  his  account  of  the  first  Electric  Tele- 
graph in  England,  on  the  Blackwall  Eailway,  which  we  saw 
in  operation  while  on  a  visit  to  London  in  1840.  And  in  the 
same  year  we  saw  another  line,  which  was  built  by  Wheat- 
stone  and  Cook,  extending  along  the  Great  Western  Eailway, 
from  London  to  Slough,  near  Windsor,  about  twenty-one 
miles  in  length.  The  first  line  erected  in  this  country,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  in  1844. 

The  first  application  of  the  electric  telegraph  was  made  on  the  Black- 
wall  Railway,  from  the  station  in  the  Minories  to  Brunswick  Pier.  On 
this  line  the  trains  start  every  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  the  stopping  places 
are  so  numerous,  that  it  is  not  easy  to  conceive  how  the  service  could 
have  been  performed  without  such  aid  as  the  new  mode  of  telegraphing  was 
calculated  to  afford.  The  announcements  of  departures,  of  stoppages, 
of  the  number  of  carriages  attached  to  the  wire  rope,  accidents,  or  other 
causes  of  delay,  were  regularly  transmitted,  and  the  business  thereby 
maintained  in  full  vigor  and  discipline.  After  this,  other  railway  com- 
panies availed  themselves  of  the  same  indispensable  agency,  and  tele- 
graphs were  gradually  stretched  along  the  London  and  North- Western, 
South- Western,  South-Eastern,  and  Eastern  Counties  lines.  On  the 
Great  Western  the  wires  at  first  were  placed  inside  a  continuous  tube, 
fixed  a  few  inches  above  the  ground  at  one  side  of  the  way,  but  were 
afterwards  strained  on  posts,  as  on  other  railways — an  arrangement 
with  slight  exceptions,  now  prevalent  throughout  Britain.  This  line  had 
not  long  been  complete  when  a  striking  instance  occurred  of  the  ser- 
vice which  the  telegraph  might  render  to  society.  A  man  of  respecta- 
ble exterior  took  his  seat  in  a  first  class  carriage  at  the  Slough  station, 
eighteen  miles  from  London :  he  was  a  murderer  hurrying  away  from 
the  yet  warm  body  of  his  victim  ;  the  panting  engine  nears  its  destina- 
tion ;  the  eager  criminal  believes  his  escape  certain ;  but  the  alarm  has 
been  given  at  the  fatal  spot,  and  quick  as  lightning  the  telegraph  trans- 
mits it  to  Paddington,  with  a  description  of  the  suspected  individual. 


168  HISTOKICAL   SKETCH   OF 

In  three  minutes  an  answer  announces  the  arrival  of  the  train,  the  iden- 
tification of  the  fugitive,  and  the  certainty  of  his  capture.  There  are 
few  persons  who  will  not  remember  the  impression  made  on  the  public 
mind  by  this  victory  of  science  and  justice  over  crime.  Again;  a 
communication  transmitted  from  Paddington  immediately  that  the  year 
1845  commenced,  was  received  at  Slough  in  1844,  the  clock  at  that 
place  not  having  struck  midnight.  Though  so  short  a  distance,  the  dif- 
ference of  longitude  was  sufficient  to  mark  the  inconceivable  velocity  of 
the  electro-magnetic  current.  Swift-footed  Time  was  henceforward  to 
be  beaten  in  the  race. 

The  wire  commonly  used  for  telegraphs  is  about  one-sixth  of  an 
inch  diameter,  covered  with  a  thin  coating  of  zinc,  or,  as  it  is  called, 
'  galvanised,'  to  prevent  oxidation.  Besides  this,  it  is  found  that  the  de- 
posit from  damp  and  dust  and  other  causes  affords  a  very  efficient  pro- 
tection. Four  miles  of  such  wire  weigh  a  ton.  The  posts  to  which  it 
is  attached  are  fixed  at  from  fifty  to  sixty  yards  apart — thirty  or  thirty- 
two  to  the  mile.  To  insure  perfect  insulation  the  wires  are  not  permit- 
ted to  touch  the  posts,  otherwise  the  current  would  be  diverted  down- 
wards through  the  wood,  particularly  in  wet  weather.  Insulators  of  va- 
rious forms,  '  rings,  collars,  and  double  cones,'  are  made  of  brown  stone- 
ware, which  of  all  substances  yet  tried  throws  off  the  wet  most  readily. 
A  stone-pitcher,  after  being  plunged  into  water,  is  seen  to  retain  scarcely 
a  trace  of  the  immersion  beyond  a  few  drops  on  the  surface.  Even 
with  this  material  it  is  sometimes  difficult,  during  dense  fogs  or  heavy 
rains,  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  the  current. 

Besides  the  supporting-posts,  there  are  others  called  '  winding-posts,' 
four  to  the  mile,  to  which  the  wires  are  connected  in  alternate  half-mile 
lengths,  and  stretched  by  means  of  a  screwing  apparatus.  It  is  on 
these  posts  that  the  stone  collars  are  used ;  a  sufficient  number  being 
attached  to  each  side,  the  wire  is  passed  through  the  eye  and  drawn 
tight,  while  to  maintain  the  communication  uninterrupted,  a  loop  of 
wire  is  affixed  to  the  main  lengths  at  a  short  distance  on  either  side  of 
the  post,  round  the  front  of  which  it  passes  in  a  slight  curve.  To  pro- 
tect the  insulators  as  much  as  possible  from  wet,  they  are  sheltered  by 
a  sloping  wooden  roof.  The  pointed  wires  seen  rising  a  few  inches 
above  the  tops  of  the  posts  on  some  lines  is  a  lightning-conductor  with 
its  lower  extremity  buried  in  the  earth.  A  precaution  not  unnecessary, 
as  thunder-storms  produce  singular  effects  on  the  lines  of  telegraph. 

One  wire  only  will  suffice  for  the  transmission  of  correspondence  be- 
tween any  two  places  ;  the  making  use  of  a  greater  number,  six,  eight, 


THE  ELECTEIC  TELEGRAPH.  169 

or  ten,  as  may  be  seen  on  some  railways,  is  merely  for  the  sake  of  econ- 
omy or  convenience.  It  is  found  better  in  practice  to  keep  one  or  two 
wires  distinct  for  the  main  termini  or  points  of  correspondence — say  from 
London  to  Derby — than  to  make  them  serve  at  the  same  time  all  the 
intermediate  stations.  It  is  an  arrangement  which  helps  to  simplify 
the  working  duties  of  the  office,  and  to  facilitate  them  also,  for  with  but 
one  or  two  wires  there  would  be  constantly-recurring  delays  and  confu- 
sion, since  while  any  two  places  were  intercommunicating  all  the  others 
would  have  to  wait.  One  of  the  wires  is  sometimes  employed  exclu- 
sively for  the  alarums — that  is,  to  ring  the  bell  at  any  station  with  which 
it  may  be  desired  to  '  speak.'  Wherever  connection  is  made  with  an  in- 
termediate office,  the  main  wire  is  cut,  and  a  shackle  inserted,  and  from 
either  side  of  this  a  short  wire  is  stretched  to  the  instrument ;  thus  af- 
fording means  for  the  passage  of  a  current  up  or  down  the  line.  The 
same  contrivance  would  be  adopted  were  there  but  one  wire  to  connect 
the  two  extremes  of  the  line ;  and  it  is  within  the  bounds  of  possibility 
that  some  invention  or  adaptation  will  show  that  all  the  required  ser- 
vices may  be  performed  by  a  single  conductor. 

The  wires,  when  in  their  place,  are  connected  with  the  batteries 
and  telegraphic  instruments  at  the  respective  stations  ;  and  here  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  consider  the  construction  and  mode  of  action  of  a 
battery.  The  latter  may  be  familiarly  described  as  a  wooden  trough,  from 
two  to  three  feet  long  and  about  six  inches  wide,  divided  crosswise  into 
twenty-four  compartments  or  cells — more  or  fewer  according  to  circum- 
stances— by  partitions  of  slate.  Two  plates  of  metal,  copper  and  zinc, 
alternately,  are  placed  in  each  cell,  in  such  an  order  that  all  the  plates 
of  one  kind  face  towards  one  end  of  the  trough,  and  all  of  the  other 
kind  to  the  other  end.  A  small  strip  or  ribbon  of  copper  unites  each 
pair  at  the  centre  of  their  upper  edges,  forming,  as  it  were,  so  many 
curved  handles,  by  which  they  can  be  lifted  in  and  out.  As  soon,  then, 
as  the  remaining  vacant  space  in  each  cell  is  filled  with  an  acidulated 
fluid  the  action  commences ;  the  acid  begins  to  act  on  the  zinc  by  dis- 
solving it,  the  water  contained  in  the  solution  is  decomposed,  and  hy- 
drogen thrown  off  from  the  surface  of  the  copper  plates ;  while  by  a 
combination  of  oxygen,  oxide  of  zinc  is  formed,  and  this,  dissolving  in 
the  acid — which  is  commonly  sulphuric — sulphate  of  zinc  is  produced. 
These  effects  are  the  consequence  of  the  general  law  established  in 
relation  to  voltaic  electricity, '  that  by  the  simple  contact  of  dissimilar  me- 
tallic bodies,  a  partial  transfer  of  the  electric  fluid  from  one  to  the  other 
invariably  takes  place.'    A  positive  current  is  generated  at  the  zinc,  and 


170  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

passes  to  the  copper  through  the  intervening  fluid  in  all  the  series  of 
cells ;  and  continues  to  flow  as  long  as  contact  is  maintained  between  the 
wires  which  depart  from  either  end,  whatever  be  their  length.  There 
are  various  contrivances  for  increasing  and  rendering  continuous  the 
power  of  batteries,  and  for  checking  deterioration  in  the  metal  or  acid, 
which  we  need  not  stay  to  consider,  as  they  do  not  affect  the  main 
question. 

The  cells  of  telegraph  batteries,  instead  of  a  fluid,  are  filled  with 
pure  sand — a  material  chemically  inert,  moistened  by  pouring  in  the 
dilute  sulphuric  acid — an  arrangement  which  admits  of  the  apparatus 
being  removed  from  place  to  place  without  risk  of  spilling  the  contents, 
while  it  diminishes  waste  of  the  plates  without  diminishing  their  power. 
The  zinc  is  most  liable  to  dissolution,  and  would  be  rapidly  exhausted 
were  it  not  for  the  protective  influence  discovered  by  Mr.  Sturgeon. 
Having  washed  the  plates  clean,  he  dipped  them  into  mercury,  and  the 
thin  adherent  coat  of  the  rarer  metal  is  found  to  prevent  effervescence 
of  the  surface.  Those  which  are  known  as  amalgamated  plates  conse- 
quently last  longer  than  others  left  in  their  native  state ;  and  after  a 
turn  of  service  they  may  be  again  washed  and  redipped.  A  well-pre- 
pared battery,  with  occasional  renewals  of  the  acid,  will  maintain  an 
effective  working  condition  during  twelve  or  fifteen  months.  According 
to  Mr.  C.  V.  Walker,  to  whose  work  we  are  indebted  for  the  substance 
of  some  of  our  details,  '  The  telegraphs  on  the  South- Eastern  Railway, 
of  180  miles  and  forty-seven  stations,  are  worked  with  2,200  pairs  of 
such  plates :  and  the  whole  telegraph  system  in  the  United  Kingdom, 
employs  about  20,000  pairs.1 

In  preparing  the  batteries,  it  is  possible  to  determine  mathemati- 
cally beforehand  the  amount  of  resistance,  and  the  force  necessary  to 
overcome  it ;  and  thus  to  proportion  the  number  of  plates  to  the  dis- 
tance to  which  the  wires  extend.  Large  wires  are  better  conductors 
than  small  ones.  Iron  is  a  better  conductor  than  copper,  and  copper 
than  silver.  The  several  conditions  may  be  calculated  from  the  formu- 
lae laid  down  by  Ohm. 

The  wires  of  the  battery  meet  those  of  the  telegraph  in  what  is 
called  the  electro-magnetic  machine,  which  externally  resembles  a  cabi- 
net clock,  having  a  square  dial-plate  inscribed  with  the  letters  of  the 
alphabet,  and  certain  arbitrary  characters,  and  two  hands  placed  side 
by  side  near  its  centre.  These  hands  are  the  needles  which  are  the 
tongues  of  the  apparatus;  in  their  vibrations  to  the  right  and  left, 
their  starts  and  pauses,  the  whole  correspondence  is  conveyed.     For 


THE  ELECTKIC  TELEGKAPH.  171 

each  needle  visible  on  the  face  of  the  instrument  there  is  a  correspond- 
ing one  inside,  the  two  being  so  placed  that  the  north  pole  of  the  one 
and  the  south  pole  of  the  other  are  in  the  same  position,  so  as  to  neu- 
tralize their  magnetism,  or  rather  the  action  of  the  magnetism  upon 
them.  They  are  thus  kept  in  a  perpendicular  position,  and  obedient  to 
the  slightest  impulse  from  the  battery.  The  inner  needle  is  suspended 
within  a  coil  or  multiplier,  which  intensifies  the  current  at  this  partic- 
ular spot,  and  is  deflected  to  either  side  at  pleasure  by  movement  of  the 
levers  or  handles  which  close  or  open  the  electro-magnetic  circuit. 

The  telegraph  wires  finish  in  two  terminals,  which  form  part  of  the 
mechanism,  and  are  in  connection  with  the  magnet  and  the  multiplier. 
The  battery  wires  are  brought  to  two  other  terminals,  connected  also 
with  the  same  apparatus ;  so  that  in  order  to  reach  the  telegraph  wires, 
the  current  must  first  excite  the  magnet  and  the  needles.  This  action 
takes  place  only  when  work  is  to  be  done ;  at  other  times  the  circuit  is 
left  open.  Instantaneously,  however,  on  making  contact,  the  signals 
exhibited  at  one  end  of  the  line  are  reproduced  at  the  other ;  such  is 
the  astonishing  power  of  the  magnet  when  rendered  active.  Messages 
of  business  or  friendship,  congratulation  or  anxiety,  may  be  sent  from 
one  end  of  the  kingdom  to  the  other  with  the  velocity  of  lightning ; 
on  which  Arago  observes,  '  the  most  extended  and  brilliant  flashes  of 
the  first  and  second  order,  those  even  which  appear  to  develope  their 
fires  over  the  whole  scope  of  the  visible  horizon,  are  not  equal  in  dura- 
tion to  the  thousandth  part  of  a  second.' 

When  a  message  is  to  be  sent,  the  clerk  whose  duty  it  is  to  work 
the  instrument,  places  the  written  document  before  him  ;  and  after  strik- 
ing the  '  ringing  key,'  to  call  the  attention  of  his  correspondent,  takes 
one  of  the  levers  which  project  from  the  base  of  the  machine  in  each 
hand,  and  moving  them  from  side  to  side  produces  corresponding  and 
simultaneous  movements  of  the  needles  on  his  own  and  the  distant 
dial-plate,  and  the  words  are  spelt  oft*  with  great  facility.  Such  is  the 
quickness  of  apprehension  acquired  by  practice,  that  the  clerks  can 
write  the  message  as  fast  as  the  needles  deliver  it ;  and  it  is  said  that 
some  of  the  more  expert  would  be  able  to  read  it  without  error  from  a 
blank  dial. 

To  expedite  transmission,  the  communications  are  made  as  brief  as 
possible,  by  the  elision  of  letters,  and  syllables,  and  sometimes  of  half 
a  word ;  besides  which,  many  conventional  signs  are  made  use  of.  '  We 
have,'  says  Mr.  Walker,  '  a  signal  for  the  period  or  full  stop  and  for 
paragrajjhs  ;  and  we  have  one  for  underlining  words.     And  we  have 


172  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

many  very  valuable  special  signals.  There  is  also  a  signal  among  the 
clerks  for  laughing,  and  one  for  the  whistle  of  astonishment.'  Where 
secrecy  is  desired,  any  two  parties  have  only  to  agree  to  employ  nume- 
rals as  letters,  or  to  reverse  or  transpose  the  alphabet  at  pleasure,  in  or- 
der to  form  a  code  of  signals  which  none  but  themselves  shall  be  able 
to  interpret.  The  messages  transmitted  on  the  Admiralty  service  are 
based  on  a  private  system,  of  which  the  chiefs  alone  understand  the 
import. 

With  respect  to  communications  of  greater  length,  the  writer  just 
quoted  observes :  '  The  rates  at  which  newspaper  dispatches  are  trans- 
mitted from  Dover  to  London,  is  a  good  illustration  of  the  perfect  state 
to  which  the  needle-telegraph  has  attained,  and  of  the  apt  manipula- 
tion of  the  officers  in  charge.  The  mail,  which  leaves  Paris  about  mid- 
day, conveys  to  England  dispatches  containing  the  latest  news,  which 
are  intended  to  appear  in  the  whole  impression  of  the  morning  paper. 
To  this  end  it  is  necessary  that  a  copy  be  delivered  to  the  editor  in  Lon- 
don about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  dispatches  are  given  in 
charge  to  us  at  Dover  soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  boat,  which  of  course 
depends  on  the  wind  and  the  weather.  The  officer  on  duty  at  Dover, 
having  first  hastily  glanced  through  the  manuscript,  to  see  that  all  is 
clear  to  him  and  legible,  calls  '  London '  and  commences  the  transmis- 
sion. The  nature  of  these  dispatches  may  be  daily  seen  by  reference 
to  the  '  Times.'  The  miscellaneous  character  of  the  intelligence  therein 
contained,  and  the  continual  fresh  names  of  persons  and  places,  make 
them  a  fair  sample  for  illustrating  the  capabilities  of  the  electric  tele- 
graph as  it  now  is.  The  clerk,  who  is  all  alone,  placing  the  paper  be- 
fore him  in  a  good  light,  and  seated  at  the  instrument,  delivers  the  dis- 
patch, letter  by  letter,  and  word  by  word,  to  his  correspondent  in  Lon- 
don ;  and  although  the  eye  is  transferred  rapidly  from  the  manuscript 
copy  to  the  telegraph  instrument,  and  both  hands  are  occupied  at  the 
latter,  he  very  rarely  has  cause  to  pause  in  his  progress,  and  as  rarely 
also  does  he  commit  an  error.  And,  on  account  of  the  extremely  lim- 
ited time  in  which  the  whole  operation  must  be  compressed,  he  is  not 
able,  like  the  printer,  to  correct  his  copy. 

'  At  London  there  are  two  clerks  on  duty — one  to  read  the  signals 
as  they  come,  and  the  other  to  write.  They  have  previously  arranged 
their  books  and  papers :  and  as  soon  as  the  signal  for  preparation  is 
given,  the  writer  sits  before  his  manifold  book,  and  the  reader  gives 
him  distinctly  word  for  word  as  it  arrives ;  meanwhile  a  messenger  has 
been  dispatched  for  a  cab,  which  now  waits  in  readiness.     When  the 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  173 

dispatch  is  completed,  the  clerk  who  has  received  it  reads  through 
the  manuscript  of  the  other,  in  order  to  see  that  he  has  not  misunder- 
stood him  in  any  word.  The  hours  and  minutes  of  commencing  and  end- 
ing are  noted ;  and  the  copy  being  signed,  is  sent  under  official  seal  to 
its  destination,  the  manifold  fac-simile  being  retained  as  our  office  copy, 
to  authenticate  verbatim  what  we  have  delivered.' 

'On  11th  of  December  1849,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  the 
merchants  and  bankers  of  Paris,  three  gentlemen  appeared  on  '  Change ' 
in  that  city,  at  half-past  one  p.  m.,  having  with  them  150  copies  of  the 
i  Times,'  printed  and  published  in  London  on  the  morning  of  the  self- 
same day ;  and  not  only  did  the  '  Times '  contain  the  Paris  news  up  to 
noon  of  the  previous  day,  but  actually  the  closing  prices  of  the  Paris 
Bourse  of  the  previous  evening. 

1  The  electric  telegraph  contributed  in  no  small  degree  towards  the 
accomplishment  of  this  feat.  At  eight  minutes  past  one  a.  m.,  the  dis- 
patch of  321  words,  and  the  Bourse  prices,  equal  to  55  words,  were  de- 
livered into  our  charge  at  Dover,  having  been  conveyed  thither  from 
Calais  in  the  ordinary  mail-boat.  In  exactly  thirty-two  minutes — 
namely,  at  forty  minutes  past  one — a  correct  copy  of  both  these  docu- 
ments was  handed  in  to  us  by  the  Times  Office  in  London.  This  dis- 
patch occupied  us  eighteen  minutes,  being  at  the  rate  of  l^f-  words  per 
minute ;  the  Bourse  prices,  two  minutes.  In  respect  to  the  latter,  the 
rate  is  high,  because  the  larger  portion  is  anticipated,  the  mere  fluctu- 
ations being  all  that  is  new.  There  was  nothing  extraordinary  to  us  in 
this,  quickly  as  it  was  accomplished ;  indeed,  on  the  following  morning 
the  writer  in  London  was  fairly  beaten  by  the  telegraph — the  words 
were  read  off  faster  than  he  could  make  a  clean  copy  of  them.' 

An  idea  of  the  amount  of  telegraphic  correspondence  on  a  railway 
may  be  formed  from  the  fact,  that  on  the  South-Eastern  line,  '  during 
the  three  months  ending  October  17,  1850,  4831  service  messages  were 
entered  in  the  Tunbridge  books,  and  5235  in  those  at  Ashford.'  And 
in  six  months  of  the  same  year  the  profits  arising  from  the  telegraph 
were  X776,  being  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent,  per  annum,  and  an  increase 
of  1^  per  cent,  over  the  corresponding  six  months  of  1849. 

The  proprietors  of  telegraphs  inform  us  that  the  communications  in- 
trusted to  them  for  delivery  comprise  the  whole  catalogue  of  human 
wants  and  wishes,  business  and  pleasure,  joy  and  sorrow,  friendship  and 
law.  On  some  occasions  they  have  been  asked  to  send  a  sum  of  mo- 
ney, or  a  small  parcel  along  the  wire,  by  individuals,  too,  whose  surprise 
showed  the  sincerity  of  their  belief  that  the  instrument  could  perforin 


174  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

what  was  desired.  Games  of  chess  have  been  played  between  parties 
in  distant  towns — Southampton  and  London — the  moves  being  flashed 
from  place  to  place  alternately,  as  fast  as  they  were  made.  Then  the 
security  which  the  telegraph  lends  to  railway  travelling  is  not  the  least 
of  its  merits :  accident  and  obstruction  can  at  once  be  made  known, 
and  the  remedy  provided.  '  On  New- Year's  Day  1850,  a  catastrophe, 
which  it  is  fearful  to  contemplate,  was  averted  by  the  aid  of  the  tele- 
graph. A  collision  had  occurred  to  an  empty  train  at  Gravesend ;  and 
the  driver  having  leaped  from  his  engine,  the  latter  started  alone  at  full 
speed  to  London.  Notice  was  immediately  given  by  telegraph  to  London 
and  other  stations ;  and  while  the  line  was  kept  clear,  an  engine  and  other 
arrangements  was  prepared  as  a  buttress  to  receive  the  runaway.  The 
superintendent  of  the  railway  also  started  down  the  line  on  an  engine ; 
and  on  passing  the  runaway  he  reversed  his  engine,  and  had  it  trans- 
ferred at  the  next  crossing  to  the  up-line,  so  as  to  be  in  the  rear  of  the 
fugitive.  He  then  started  in  chase,  and  on  overtaking  the  other  he  ran 
into  it  at  speed,  and  the  driver  of  his  engine  took  possession  of  the  fugi- 
tive, and  all  danger  was  at  an  end.  Twelve  stations  were  passed  in 
safety  ;  it  went  by  Woolwich  at  fifteen  miles  an  hour,  and  was  within 
a  couple  of  miles  of  London  before  it  was  arrested.  Had  its  approach 
been  unknown,  the  mere  money-value  of  the  damage  it  would  have 
caused  might  have  equalled  the  cost  of  the  whole  line  of  telegraph.' 

The  promptitude  with  which  detection  has  followed  fraud  by  the 
agency  of  the  telegraph  is  sometimes  rather  amusing.  Mr.  Smee  re- 
lates an  instance :  '  One  Friday  night,  at  ten  o'clock,  the  chief  cashier 
of  the  bank  received  a  notice  from  Liverpool,  by  electric  telegraph,  to 
stop  certain  notes.  The  next  morning  the  descriptions  were  placed  upon 
a  card  and  given  to  the  proper  officer,  to  watch  that  no  person  exchang- 
ed them  for  gold.  Within  ten  minutes  they  were  presented  at  the 
counter  by  an  apparent  foreigner,  who  pretended  not  to  speak  a  word 
of  English.  A  clerk  in  the  office  who  spoke  German  interrogated  him, 
when  he  declared  that  he  had  received  them  on  the  Exchange  at  Ant- 
werp six  weeks  before.  Upon  reference  to  the  books,  however,  it  ap- 
peared that  the  notes  had  only  been  issued  from  the  bank  about  four- 
teen days,  and  therefore  he  was  at  once  detected  as  the  utterer  of  a 
falsehood.  The  terrible  Forrester  was  sent  for,  who  forthwith  locked 
him  up,  and  the  notes  were  detained.  A  letter  was  at  once  written  to 
Liverpool,  and  the  real  owner  of  the  notes  came  up  to  town  on  Monday 
morning.  He  stated  that  he  was  about  to  sail  for  America,  and  that 
whilst  at  an  hotel  he  had  exhibited  the  notes.     The  person  in  custody 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  175 

advised  him  to  stow  the  valuables  in  his  portmanteau,  as  Liverpool  was 
a  very  dangerous  place  for  a  man  to  walk  about  with  so  much  money 
in  his  pocket.  The  owner  of  the  property  had  no  sooner  left  the  house 
than  his  adviser  broke  open  the  portmanteau  and  stole  the  property. 
The  thief  was  taken  to  the  Mansion-House,  and  could  not  make  any 
defence.  The  Sessions  were  then  at  the  Old  Bailey.  Though  no  one 
who  attends  that  court  can  doubt  that  impartial  justice  and  leniency 
are  administered  to  the  prisoners,  yet  there  is  no  one  who  does  not  mar- 
vel at  the  truly  railway-speed  with  which  the  trials  are  conducted.  By 
a  little  after  ten  the  next  morning — such  was  the  speed — not  only  was 
a  true  bill  found,  but  the  trial  by  petty-jury  was  concluded,  and  the 
thief  sentenced  to  expiate  his  offence  by  ten  years'  exile  from  his  native 
country.' 

The  Electric  Telegraph  Company,  incorporated  in  1846,  whose  cen- 
tral establishment  is  in  Lothbury,  behind  the  Bank  of  England,  hold  a 
patent  right  for  a  term,  in  part  expired,  of  fourteen  years  ;  their  charge 
for  the  use  of  it  is  £20  per  mile.  The  building  is  amply  furnished  with 
all  the  requisites  for  telegraph  service  :  and  by  means  of  wires  laid  in 
tubes  under  the  surface  of  the  streets,  is  connected  with  all  but  one  or 
two  of  the  metropolitan  railway  stations,  the  post-office,  the  head  po- 
lice station  in  Scotland  Yard,  the  Admiralty,  the  new  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment, Buckingham  Palace,  and  the  latter,  by  a  further  extension,  are 
now  placed  in  communication  with  the  Great  Exhibition  Building  in 
Hyde  Park.  Besides  these,  communications  are  complete  with  eighty 
different  places  in  the  provinces,  including  the  chief  towns  and  outports. 
Electric  telegraphs,  according  to  the  parliamentary  enactment,  '  shall 
be  open  for  the  sending  and  receiving  of  messages  by  all  persons  alike, 
without  favor  or  preference,  subject  to  a  prior  right  thereof  for  the  ser- 
vice of  Her  Majesty,  and  for  the  purposes  of  the  company.'  A  proviso 
is  also  made  in  favor  of  the  secretary  of  state,  who  may,  on  extraordi- 
nary occasions,  take  possession  of  all  the  telegraph  stations,  and  hold 
them  for  a  week,  with  power  to  continue  the  occupation  should  the 
common  weal  require  it.  '  There  have  now,'  so  runs  the  company's  of- 
ficial circular,  '  been  established  in  Edinburgh,  Manchester,  Liverpool, 
Glasgow,  Hull,  and  Newcastle,  Subscription  News  Rooms,  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  mercantile  and  professional  interests,  to  which  is 
transmitted  by  electric  telegraph  the  latest  intelligence,  including — do- 
mestic and  foreign  news ;  shipping  news ;  the  stock,  share,  corn,  and 
other  markets;  parliamentary  intelligence;  London  Gazette;  state  of 
the  wind  and  weather  from  above  forty  places  in  England ;  and  the  earliest 


176  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

possible  notices  of  all  important  occurrences.'  The  '  rate  of  charges  for 
twenty  words  is — Id.  per  mile  for  the  first  50  miles ;  ^d.  for  the  second 
50  ;  and  ^d.  for  any  distance  beyond  100  miles.'  The  lowest  charge 
made  is  half-a-crown.  From  London  to  York  for  twenty  words,  the 
cost  would  be  9s.;  to  Edinburgh  13s.;  to  Glasgow  14s. ;  and  to  other 
places  in  proportion.  The  number  of  miles  of  telegraph  in  Great  Bri- 
tain at  the  present  time  is  about  3,000,  which  leaves  about  4,000  miles 
of  railway  unprovided  for. 

During  the  last  session  of  parliament  a  second  association  was  incor- 
porated, to  be  known  as  the  British  Electric  Telegraph  Company,  '  for 
the  purpose  of  telegraphic  communication  upon  a  more  economical 
scale  throughout  the  country,  and  for  the  purchase  and  use  of  patents.' 
The  company's  central  office  is  at  the  Royal  Exchange  ;  they  propose 
to  conform  to  the  American  tariff  of  charges  for  the  delivery  of  messa- 
ges ;  to  sell  licenses ;  and  establish  lines  to  all  the  chief  towns  in  the 
kingdom.  One  of  their  projects  is  to  connect  Dublin  with  Belfast,  and 
to  cross  the  Channel  from  the  latter  town  to  Scotland  :  when  complet- 
ed, the  capitals  of  the  three  kingdoms  will  be  able  to  intercommunicate 
at  any  moment.  And  the  reduction  of  charge  which  may  be  antici- 
pated from  the  competition  will,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  bring  the  tele- 
graph more  than  at  present  within  the  means  of  the  general  public. 

The  spread  of  electric  telegraphs  in  France  has  been  extremely  slow  : 
for  a  long  time  the  government  refused  to  abandon  their  well-developed 
system  of  aerial  telegraphs;  and  when  with  much  reluctance  they 
were  induced  to  avail  themselves  of  the  infinitely  superior  agency  of 
electro-magnetism,  they  stipulated  that  the  signals  should  still  be  pro- 
duced by  small  instruments,  counterparts  on  a  diminutive  scale  of  the 
apparatus  contrived  by  Chappe.  There  were,  however,  too  many  prac- 
tical difficulties  in  the  way,  and  ultimately  the  absurd  condition  was 
withdrawn  in  favor  of  machinery  similar  to  that  used  in  this  country, 
the  government  reserving  to  itself  the  exclusive  use  and  control  of  the 
lines.  In  1845  and  two  following  years,  the  telegraphs  extending  from 
Paris  to  Orleans,  to  Rouen,  to  Lille,  and  Calais,  and  the  Belgian  frontier, 
and  to  Versailles,  were  commenced,  and  brought  into  operation.  The 
results  were  such,  that  in  January  1850  a  commission  was  appointed 
to  inquire  further  into  the  subject. 

They  drew  up  a  favorable  report,  recommending  the  formation  of 
additional  lines,  and  the  plan  of  stretching  the  wires  on  posts  in  prefe- 
rence to  placing  them  in  tubes  underground,  and  that  the  telegraphs 
should  be  open  to  the  use  of  the  public.     Among  other  economical  ad- 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  177 

vantages  to  result  from  the  further  extension,  was  the  saving  of  loco- 
motive power  on  railways  ;  for,  in  accordance  with  the  practice  on  the 
French  lines,  whenever  a  train  was  twenty  minutes  late  an  assistant- 
engine  was  dispatched  to  its  relief  from  one  station  to  another  all  along 
the  route — an  arrangement  which  not  only  involved  considerable  ex- 
pense, but  liability  to  accident  also.  The  construction  of  seven  tele- 
graphic lines  was  recommended ;  five  of  the  number  have  been  officially 
authorized — from  Paris  to  Tonnerre,  Eouen  to  Havre,  Paris  to  Angers, 
Orleans  to  Chateauroux,  and  from  the  same  city  to  Nevers ;  and  by  a 
vote  of  the  Assembly,  717,095  francs  are  set  apart  to  defray  the  expen- 
ses of  the  necessary  works.  To  afford  the  fullest  facilities  to  the  govern- 
ment, wires  are  led  from  the  respective  stations  in  Paris  to  the  hotel  of 
the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  where  the  office  is  now  open  to  the  public 
from  8  a.  m.  to  9  p.  m.  every  day  without  exception.  Three  hundred 
and  one  dispatches  were  transmitted  in  March,  the  first  month  of  open- 
ing. According  to  the  scale  of  charges — to  send  a  message  of  twenty 
words  62£  miles  will  cost  3s.  3£d.,  and  12s.  for  620  miles.  Two  hun- 
dred words  for  the  same  distances  respectively  will  be  16s.  5d.  and  58s. 
9d.  At  this  rate  to  send  a  message  of  300  words  from  Paris  to  Calais 
(195  miles)  would  cost  more  than  35s.  The  commission  state,  that 
from  seventy-five  to  eighty  letters  may  be  transmitted  per  minute.  In 
the  course  of  their  report  they  suggest,  that  as  the  line  from  the  capital 
to  Dunkerque  is  on  the  meridian  of  Paris,  and  one  of  the  points  of  the 
points  of  the  great  survey  for  the  measurement  of  an  arc  of  the  meri- 
dian some  fifty  years  ago,  the  establishment  of  an  electric  telegraph  will 
afford  an  excellent  opportunity  for  testing  the  former  by  remeasurement. 
The  telegraphs  complete  and  in  progress  in  France  are  about  1,500 
miles  in  length. 

In  Belgium,  a  commission  was  also  appointed  at  the  close  of  1849 
to  consider  the  same  subject ;  the  individuals  named — one  of  them  be- 
ing M.  Quetelet — were  eminently  qualified  for  their  duties.  After  a 
careful  examination  of  the  systems  of  electro-telegraphic  communication 
employed  in  other  countries — the  burying  of  the  wires  under  ground, 
as  in  Prussia,  and  the  stretching  of  them  on  posts,  as  in  England  and 
the  United  States — the  liability  to  accident  from  premeditated  mischief, 
atmospheric  or  other  causes — they  have  decided  in  favor  of  wires  above 
rather  than  below  the  earth.  They  show  that  the  disturbances  to  which 
the  apparatus  is  liable  from  electricity  of  the  air  is  nowhere  so  effectual- 
ly guarded  against  as  in  England,  where  conductors  are  attached  to  the 
posts  and  to  the  machinery  in  the  offices,  and  recommend  the  adoption 
12 


178  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

of  similar  means  of  protection  on  the  Belgian  lines,  which  they  propose 
to  establish  from  Brussels  to  Quievrain — and  to  the  Prussian  frontier ; 
from  Malines  to  Ostend  by  way  of  Ghent — and  to  Antwerp — the  sev- 
eral distances  amounting  to  about  300  miles.  They  estimate  the  an- 
nual receipts  and  savings  from  these  various  sources  at  86,000  francs ; 
and  acting  on  their  report,  the  government  has  granted  a  credit  of  250, 
000  francs  for  carrying  the  project  into  execution.  The  central  situation 
of  Belgium  with  regard  to  other  countries  renders  the  formation  of 
these  lines  of  essential  importance  in  continental  communications. 

Already  the  ramifications  of  electro-telegraphs  extend  from  one  end 
of  Europe  to  the  other ;  the  lines  to  connect  Petersburg  with  Moscow, 
and  with  the  Russian  ports  on  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Baltic,  are  in 
progress  ;  other  wires  stretch  from  the  capital  of  the  czar  to  Vienna 
and  Berlin,  taking  Cracow,  Warsaw,  and  Posen  on  the  way.  Two  lines, 
by  different  routes — Olmutz  and  Brunn — unite  Vienna  with  Prague, 
from  whence  an  offset  leads  to  Dresden ;  a  third  enables  the  Austrian 
government  to  send  messages  to  Trieste — their  outport  on  the  Adriatic 
— 325  miles  distant;  a  fourth  communicates  with  the  metropolis  of  Ba- 
varia; and  'since  the  10th  January  (1850),  the  "  Gazette  d' Augsburg" 
has  published  the  course  of  exchange  in  Munich  twenty  minutes  after 
in  has  been  declared  in  Vienna.'  Calais  may  send  news  to  the  city  of 
the  Magyar  on  the  Danube ,  and  ere  long  intelligence  will  be  flashed 
without  interruption  from  St.  Petersburg  to  the  Pyrenees.  Tuscany 
has  100  miles  of  telegraph  under  the  direction  of  Signor  Matteucci ; 
and  a  single  wire,  traversing  the  level  surface  of  the  Netherlands,  unites 
Rotterdam  with  Amsterdam.  Communities  are  learning  that  the  elec- 
tric telegraph  is  an  essential  of  good  government ;  that  police  without 
it  is  inefficient ;  that  by  it  the  interests  of  humanity  are  promoted. 
There  is  talk  also  of  introducing  the  thought-flasher  into  that  land  of 
wonders — Egypt ;  to  stretch  a  wire  from  Cairo  to  Suez  for  the  service  of 
the  overland  mail.  Who  shall  say  that  before  the  present  generation 
passes  away,  Downing  Street  may  not  be  placed  in  telegraphic  rapport 
with  Calcutta? 

In  Austria  there  are  about  3,000  miles  of  telegraph,  one-fourth 
being  gutta-percha-coated  wire  laid  underground.  Germany  has  3,500 
miles  complete,  and  1,200  more  in  process  of  construction.  The  Aus- 
trian government  steamboats  are  fitted  with  an  electric  telegraph  for 
communications  from  the  captain  on  deck  to  the  engine-room. 

In  a  time  when  mechanical  science  scarcely  admits  the  signification 
of  '  impossible,'  the  insular  position  of  England  would  not  long  shut 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  179 

her  out  from  a  union  with  those  continental  ramifications  which  we  have 
noticed.  The  possibility  of  establishing  the  connection  was  satisfactorily- 
proved  in  August  1850,  when  a  telegraph-wire  was  sunk  across  the  Chan- 
nel from  Dover  to  Cape  Grisnez  on  the  French  coast.  On  the  28th  of 
that  month,  after  certain  preliminary  experiments  had  been  tried,  the 
Goliah  steamer  started  with  a  huge  reel  containing  25  miles  of  wire, 
coated  with  gutta  percha,  on  her  deck,  which  was  slowly  unwound  and 
submerged  as  she  left  the  land.  A  horse-box  was  set  up  on  the  beach, 
to  serve  as  a  temporary  office  for  the  instruments  and  operators ;  from 
which  the  wire  was  led  through  a  lead  pipe  to  some  distance  beyond  low- 
water  mark,  as  a  measure  of  protection  in  a  part  the  most  exposed.  A 
line  of  buoys  marked  the  track  of  the  steamer ;  she  travelled  about 
four  miles  an  hour,  and  the  wire  was  gradually  sunk  at  the  same  rate 
by  means  of  heavy  weights  attached  at  regular  intervals.  A  powerful 
set  of  batteries  had  been  provided,  as  one  of  the  objects  was,  if  possible, 
to  work  Brett's  printing  telegraph ;  and  when  the  steamer  had  made 
good  a  portion  of  her  voyage,  the  communication  was  established,  and 
words  were  printed  at  the  instrument  on  board  the  vessel — imperfectly, 
it  is  true ;  but  the  fact  once  verified,  the  perfecting  becomes  matter  of 
detail.  The  needle  instrument  played  freely,  and  in  the  evening  its  sig- 
nals showed  that  the  voyage  had  terminated  successfully.  A  message 
flashed  from  under  the  sea  by  the  opposite  party  pronounced,  '  We  are 
all  safe  at  Cape  Grisnez,'  with  the  inquiry  added,  '  How  are  you  ? ' 
Thus  the  international  communication  was  complete ;  but  soon  after 
interrupted  by  the  breaking  of  the  wire,  which  was  too  weak  to  with- 
stand the  action  of  the  water  and  friction  on  a  rocky  bottom. 

As  before  observed,  the  possibility  having  been  proved,  the  Subma- 
rine Telegraph  Company,  whose  patent  embraces  England,  France,  and 
Belgium,  set  about  preparations  to  re-establish  the  connection  on  a  scale 
calculated  to  obviate  the  risk  of  accident.  The  wires,  four  or  five  in 
number,  are  to  be  inclosed  in  cables  several  inches  in  thickness,  and 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  miles  in  length,  each  weighing  490  tons. 
It  is  proposed  to  have  three  or  four  such  cables,  to  be  anchored  to  the 
bottom  two  or  more  miles  apart,  so  that  if  one  should  fail,  communica- 
tion may  still  be  maintained  by  the  others.  Expectations  are  held  out 
that  the  line  may  again  be  brought  into  working  order  during  the  pre- 
sent year  (1851.)" 

Since  then,  by  an  improved  telegraph  wire  or  jointed  iron 
cable  stretched  across  on  the  bottom  of  the  Channel,  commu- 


180  HISTOEICAL  SKETCH. 

nication  has  been  regularly  and  permanently  established,  by 
which  means  London  and  Paris  are  in  daily,  and  almost  instant 
commnnication. 

The  aggregate  length  of  telegraph  wires  now  in  operation 
in  America  and  Europe,  exceeds  the  circumference  of  the 
earth's  surface ;  and  in  a  few  years  will  probably  more  than 
double  this  distance. 


CHAPTEK  XVIII. 

LATEST  ACCOUNTS  OF  THE  PROGRESS  AND  OPERATIONS  OF 
FOREIGN  TELEGRAPHS. 

Since  the  publication  of  the  article  on  Telegraphs  in  Cham- 
bers's Papers  for  the  People,  the  past  year  (1851),  we  have 
gleaned  some  additional  information  from  late  English  papers. 
The  particulars  of  these  addenda,  though  brief  and  meagre, 
nevertheless  plainly  indicate  the  rapid  spread  of  Electric  Tele- 
graphs over  the  civilized  world. 

Financial  Returns  of  English  Telegraph  Lines. 

"  The  half  yearly  meeting  of  the  proprietors  was  held  on  Saturday, 
the  29th  Nov.,  1851,  at  the  central  station  in  Lothbury,  the  Chairman, 
Mr.  J.  L.  Ricardo,  M.  P.,  presiding. 

"  The  accounts  show  an  available  balance  of  £14,701  12s.  3d.  Cf 
this  sum  the  directors  recommend  the  division  of  £9,369  9s.,  which 
will  produce  a  dividend  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent,  per  annum  upon 
both  classes  of  shares,  leaving  a  balance  of  £5,332  3s.  3d.  to  the  credit 
of  the  next  half  year.  The  capital  account,  to  the  end  of  December 
last,  showed  a  receipt  upon  the  shares  of  £330,000  ;  sundry  liabilities, 
as  per  ledger,  £34,981  19s.  9<L;  reserved  fund,  £68,534  16s.  9d.; 
balance,  £14,701  12s.  3d.;  total  £428,218  8s.  9d.  On  the  other 
side,  the  cost  of  telegraphs,  completed  and  in  progress,  inclusive  of  the 
cost  of  patents,  was  £361,731  18s.  8d.,  other  items  (including  £26,370 
19s.  7d.,  cash  and  securities  in  hand),  £76,486  10s.  Id. ;  total  £448,- 
218  8s.  9d.  The  revenue  account  for  the  half  year  ending  December 
31  showed  receipts  for  messages,  subscriptions  and  contracts,  amount- 
ing to  £24,336  8s.  10. ;  and  expenses  amounting  to  £15,979  16s.  7d. ; 
leaving  a  balance  of  £8,681  12s.  3d.  The  report  having  been  received 
and  adopted,  formal  resolutions  carrying  out  its  several  recommenda- 
tions, and  making  a  dividend  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent.,  were  also 


182  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

agreed  to  ;  Mr.  George  Wilson  and  Colonel  Wylde  were  re-elected  di- 
rectors, and  Mr.  Albert  Ricardo  was  re-appointed  an  auditor." 

Marking  Meridian  Time  by  Electricity. 

In  a  previous  part  of  our  work,  we  have  alluded  to  the 
practicability  of  causing  meridian  time,  at  any  central  observa- 
tory, to  be  simultaneously  noted  at  various  other  localities, 
which  would  not  only  indicate  the  true  difference  of  longitude, 
but  regulate  the  time  for  each  place.  By  the  following  ac- 
count from  a  London  paper  (April,  1852),  we  see  that  the  As- 
tronomer Eoyal  is  about  to  put  a  similar  plan  into  practical 
operation.  The  National  Observatory  at  Washington  should, 
in  some  similar  way,  and  for  a  like  purpose,  be  put  in  electrical 
communication  with  New- York  and  other  sea-port  towns. 

"  Electrical  Time. — The  Electric  Telegraph  Company  are  now  in- 
troducing a  novel  and  beautiful  system  for  distributing  and  establishing 
correct  Greenwich  or  uniform  time  throughout  the  country.  For  this 
purpose,  telegraphic  wires  are  being  laid  down  over  the  railway  and 
through  Greenwich  Park  to  the  Observatory,  and,  through  the  liberality 
of  the  South-Eastern  Railway,  the  wires  are  being  carried  from  thence, 
at  the  instance  of  the  Astronomer  Royal,  to  the  telegraph  office  in  the 
Strand,  on  the  dome  of  which,  facing  St.  Martin's  Church  and  Charing- 
cross,  is  to  be  placed  an  elevated  pole,  similar  to  that  on  the  top  of  the 
Observatory  at  Greenwich ;  from  which,  every  day  at  noon,  a  large 
black  ball,  four  feet  six  inches  in  diameter,  will,  by  electro-motive 
power,  be  dropped,  descending  simultaneously  to  a  second  with  that  at 
Greenwich,  both  being,  in  fact,  liberated  by  the  same  hand ;  and,  after 
falling  on  a  cushion,  a  contrivance  at  the  base  of  the  pole,  communi- 
cating standard  time  by  the  wires  diverging  from  Lothbury  and  the 
Strand,  by  an  electrical  coup,  throughout  the  country.  This  ingenious 
apparatus  is  designed  by  Mr.  Edwin  Clark,  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Elec- 
tric Telegraph  Company." 

Regulation  of  Time  by  Electric  Telegraph. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  the  London  News,  of  the  17th 
April,  contains  the  following  interesting  details  respecting  the 
execution  of  the  enterprise  referred  to : — 


THE   ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  183 

"  The  ingenious  apparatus  intended,  by  means  of  the  electric  tele- 
graph, to  establish  and  transmit  uniformity  of  time,  in  accordance  with 
the  Greenwich  standard,  throughout  London  and  the  provinces,  is  now 
completed.  The  apparatus  in  question  has  been  designed  by  Mr. 
Edwin  Clark,  the  engineer  to  the  Electric  Telegraph  Company,  and 
carried  out  under  his  superintendence  by  Mr.  John  Sandys,  electric  tel- 
egraph instrument  and  clock  manufacturer,  at  whose  establishment,  in 
Upper  Whitecross  street,  the  contrivance  was  exhibited  to  visitors. 
Entering  an  extensive  workshop,  the  visitor  observes  between  fifty  and 
sixty  workmen  busily  engaged  in  all  sorts  of  telegraphic  construction, 
brass  finishing,  battery  plates,  wire  work,  &c. 

There  are  to  be  seen  in  this  department,  in  process  of  manufacture, 
all  the  newest  devices  and  designs  for  carrying  out  with  economy,  and 
to  the  greatest  possible  perfection,  the  system  of  communication  intro- 
troduced  and  now  established  so  extensively  by  the  Electric  Telegraph 
Company.  In  another  department  were  observable  a  variety  of  finished 
instruments  ready  for  removal,  and  in  a  third  direction  the  visitor 
entered  a  department  devoted  to  the  ingenious  apparatus  constructed 
by  the  Electric  Telegraph  Company,  in  association  with  the  Astronomer 
Royal,  for  the  establishment  and  transmission  throughout  London  and 
the  various  provincial  and  commercial  communities  of  mean  Greenwich 
or  geometrical  time.  In  this  department,  placed  horizontally  on  sup- 
ports, is  a  long  quadrangular  shaft  or  pillar  of  wood,  painted  white  with- 
out, thirty-eight  feet  high,  and  between  eight  and  ten  inches  square. 
It  is  constructed  in  three  sections,  so  as  to  allow  of  its  being  readily 
taken  to  pieces,  in  about  thirteen  feet  lengths.  This  hollow  shaft 
passes,  towards  its  apex,  through  the  centre  of  a  large  hollow  globe  or 
ball,  by  a  contrivance  similar  to  that  in  connection  with  the  well  known 
ball  at  the  top  of  Greenwich  Observatory.  The  globe  is  about  four  feet 
six  inches  in  diameter,  is  constructed  entirely  of  basket-work,  and  is  large 
enough  for  four  persons  to  sit  comfortably  in  it.  It  is  to  be  covered 
with  canvas  and  painted  black.  By  means  of  a  bar  inside  the  ball, 
connected  with  a  piston  or  movable  rod,  working  in  grooves  or  slides 
from  inside  the  pillar,  and  by  means  of  an  electrical  trigger  communi- 
cating with  it,  an  electrical  shock  will  every  day  at  one  o'clock  cause 
the  ball  to  fall  eight  feet  from  the  top  of  the  pillar,  and  by  this  means, 
when  placed  in  its  intended  position  in  the  Strand,  it  will,  when  the 
wires  connect  it  with  the  ball  on  the  top  of  the  Observatory  at  Green- 
wich, fall  simultaneously  with  it,  and  thus  indicate  exact  Greenwich 
time.     The  ball,  released  by  the  electrical  trigger,  will  on  the  instant  of 


184  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

its  falling  communicate  mean  time  to  a  "grand  regulator,"  or  electrical 
clock,  in  the  offices  below,  which,  in  its  turn,  will  send  an  electrical 
stream  of  true  time  throughout  the  country — the  regulator  being  also 
furnished  with  a  remarkable  apparatus,  by  means  of  which  the  minute 
and  hour  hands  are  to  be  made  to  move  every  minute.  The  apparatus 
consisting  of  the  pillar  and  ball  will  be  placed  on  the  top  of  a  dome 
admirably  adapted  for  the  purpose,  and  which  is  observable  on  the  top 
of  the  West  Strand  establishment  of  the  Electric  Telegraph  Company, 
by  Hungerford  market.  Of  the  thirty-eight  feet  of  which  the  pillar  con- 
sists, seventeen  feet  are  to  be  fixed  into  the  dome  or  roof,  leaving  twenty- 
one  feet  visible  above  the  building,  and  the  pillar  will  be  crested  with  a 
silvery-looking  weather-vane  ten  feet  six  inches  high,  with  the  letters  E 
T  C  cut  transparently  on  the  arms.  Outside  the  establishment  in  the 
West  Strand,  but  in  immediate  communication  with  the  grand  regulator, 
is  to  be  a  newly  designed  electrical  clock,  surmounting  an  ornamented 
bronze  pillar,  and  similar  ones  are  to  be  placed  at  all  the  other  telegraph 
stations.  The  dial-plate  of  these  clocks  is  of  the  most  elegant  work- 
manship and  design.  There  are  four  square  dial  faces,  each  two  feet 
high,  and  within  which  the  electrical  clockwork  is  enclosed.  The  dial- 
plates  are  of  a  beautiful  enamelled  glass  of  a  pure  milk  white,  the  hours 
and  minutes  being  marked  by  stained  glass  indications  on  the  alabaster 
base,  and  upon  which,  under  the  hour  and  minute  hands  of  bronze,  are 
inscribed,  in  beautiful  light  blue  lettering,  the  words  "  Electric  Telegraph 
Company."  The  peculiarity  of  the  enamelled  glass,  which  consists  of 
a  coating  of  white  enamel  on  both  sides  of  the  ordinary  sheet  glass,  is, 
that  when  the  dial  is  illuminated  it  does  not  reflect  on  its  frontispiece 
or  face  the  unsightly  shadows  of  the  machinery  within,  so  noticeable  in 
connection  with  the  ordinary  ground  glass  illuminated  clocks  in  Lon- 
don, but  presents  a  softly  opaque  white  surface  or  transparency,  and  is, 
so  far,  a  great  improvement  upon  the  present  method  of  illuminated 
clock-making.     Mr.  Sandys  is  the  patentee." 

A  new  Telegraph  line  was  opened  between  London  and 
Bristol  on  the  5th  March,  1852. 

Submarine  Telegraphs. 

Operations  of  the  Line  connecting  France  and  England. — Ac* 
cording  to  a  late  report  made  by  the  Submarine  Telegraph 
Company  between  England  and  France,  the  following  state- 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  185 

ment  of  receipts  and  expenses  are  given.  It  will  be  perceived 
that  their  receipts  nearly  doubled  in  the  second  month  after 
the  line  was  opened.  Should  a  corresponding  ratio  of  increase 
for  the  remaining  months  of  the  year  be  realized,  its  income 
over  expenses  will  be  enormous. 

"According  to  a  report  of  the  Submarine  Telegraph  Company, 
(between  France  and  England)  submitted  at  a  meeting  held  in  Paris, 
it  appears  that  the  receipts  were  £398  in  the  first  month  from  the  com- 
mencement of  operations,  £517  in  the  second,  and  £519  in  the  third. 
The  annual  expenses  of  all  kinds,  it  was  estimated,  would  not  exceed 
£2000." 

Since  the  successful  operation  of  the  submarine  telegraph 
connecting  England  and  France,  across  the  English  Channel, 
a  number  of  other  submarine  lines  have  been  projected,  some 
of  which  are  noticed  in  the  following  paragraphs  from  foreign 
papers : 

From  the  London  News  of  April  10th,  1852. 

"  The  Irish  Submarine  Telegraph. — The  difficulties  that  have 
been  interposed  to  the  construction  of  a  submarine  telegraph  between 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  are  at  length  in  a  fair  way  to  be  overcome. 
The  communication  between  London  and  Dublin  is  expected  to  be 
formed  by  the  20th  day  of  May.  Port  Patrick  and  Donaghadee  are 
the  points  from  which  it  is  proposed  to  throw  the  wires  across  the 
Channel,  as  the  line  will  then  be  shorter  by  forty-four  and  a  half  miles 
than  that  contemplated  between  Kingstown  and  Holyhead.  The  com- 
pany propose  to  lay  down  two  distinct  lines  of  four  wires,  and  they 
will  be  in  full  co-operation  with  the  Electric  Telegraph  Company  es- 
tablished in  London.  A  novel  feature  of  the  proposed  plan  will  con- 
sist in  the  connection  of  the  Government  offices  in  Downing-street  with 
the  Irish  metropolis,  an  advantage  of  no  little  importance.  A  great 
benefit  will  be  bestowed  on  the  commercial  interests  of  the  country  by 
the  facility  of  communicating  with  the  frequented  port  of  Queenstown, 
as  harassing  and  expensive  delays  are  now  constantly  experienced  from 
the  necessity  of  vessels  awaiting  the  receipt  of  orders  for  several  days  in 
the  offing." 

A  Belgian  paper  remarks  that 


186  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

"  Some  English  gentlemen  are  at  this  moment  engaged  in  studying 
plans  at'Nieuwdiep,  as  it  would  appear,  relative  to  a  project  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  submarine  electrical  communication  between  Holland 
and  England.  If  we  may  give  credit  to  the  reports  in  circulation,*  this 
plan  would  only  be  carried  into  execution,  in  the  case  of  France  ceasing 
to  be  on  friendly  terms  with  England,  which  circumstance  would,  con- 
sequently, render  it  necessary,  in  order  to  insure  the  electric  communi- 
cations between  England  and  the  continent,  to  choose  other  points, 
situated  so  as  to  be  protected  from  the  effects  of  hostilities." 

A  late  English  paper  gives  the  following : 

"London  and  Belgium. — The  King  of  Belgium  has  granted  to  Sir 
James  Carmichael,  Bart.,  the  exclusive  privilege  of  a  submarine  line 
between  England  and  Belgium.  It  is  to  communicate  ultimately  with 
India." 

Electric  Telegraph  Lines  on  the  Continent. 

"  From  the  1st  of  March,  1851,  to  the  1st  of  February,  the  French 
government  electric  telegraph,  of  which  the  head  office  is  established  at 
the  hotel  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  has  transmitted  11,443  messa- 
ges, as  follows : — 1.  Dispatches  transmitted  from  Paris  to  the  depart- 
ments, from  the  departments  to  Paris,  and  from  one  department  to 
another,  4,594.  2.  Dispatches  transmitted  from  France  to  Belgium, 
and  from  Belgium  to  France,  4,774.  3.  Dispatches  transmitted  from 
France  to  England,  and  from  England  to  France,  1,468.  4.  Dispatches 
transmitted  in  transitu  from  England  to  Belgium  through  France,  and 
from  Belgium  to  England,  607,  making  altogether  11,443  dispatches. 
The  sums  paid  for  the  transmission  of  these  dispatches  amounted  to 
166,577f.,  viz. : — For  France,  97,889f. ;  for  Belgium  and  Germany, 
50,322f. ;  for  England,  18,346f." 

It  appears  from  the  following  statement,  that  nearly  one- 
third  of  the  dispatches  transmitted  over  the  Prussian  Electric 
Telegraph  lines  in  1851  were  on  government  account. 

"  Prussia. — The  total  length  of  electric  telegraph  lines  in  Prussia  is 
446  German  miles  (981  leagues),  and  376  of  them  are  underground. 
130  of  them  were  established  in  the  course  .of  the  last  year.  The  num- 
ber of  dispatches  transmitted  in  1851  was  39,972,  of  which  11,447 
were  by  the  Prussian  or  other  governments — the  rest  by  private  indi- 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  187 

viduals.  The  total  receipts  were  90,450  thalers  (343,7l0fr.),  and  the 
total  expense  157,162  thalers  (597,2 1 5fr.) ;  but  the  government  dis- 
patches are  not  included  in  the  receipts." 

"Italy. — The  Minister  of  the  Interior  at  Modena  has  issued  a  no- 
tice, announcing  that  the  telegraphic  line  which  connects  Modena,  Gua- 
rilla  and  E-eggio  with  the  Austrian  States,  will  be  henceforward  open 
to  the  use  of  the  public.  The  tariff  is  regulated  according  to  the  dis- 
tance in  German  miles,  of  fifteen  to  a  degree,  and  no  dispatch  is  to 
contain  more  than  one  hundred  words." 

It  is  supposed  by  many  that  telegraph  wires  buried  in  the 
ground,  with  no  other  coating  than  Outta  Percha,  will  not 
prove  to  be  permanent.  Some  assert  that  it  will  rot,  like 
wood,  and  is  liable  to  be  cut  or  destroyed  by  burrowing  ani- 
mals or  vermin.  It  is  true  that  wires  coated  with  gutta  per- 
cha could  be  incased  in  iron  tubes ;  but  this  would  greatly  en- 
hance the  cost.  We  have  thought,  that  if  the  wires,  thus 
coated,  were  afterwards  surrounded  with  a  thick  mass  of  pine 
rosin  melted  with  sand,  that  the  security  of  the  wires  would 
be  attained,  and  in  a  cheap  and  durable  form.  The  melted 
materials  could  be  poured  or  cast  around  the  coated  wire,  after 
it  should  be  properly  placed  at  the  bottom  of  a  trench  dug  m 
the  ground.  The  rosin  and  sand  forms  a  mass  nearly  as  hard 
as  stone,  and  it  is  at  the  same  time  a  most  excellent  non-con- 
ductor of  electricity,  and  impervious  to  water. 


CONCLUSION. 

It  will  be  seen  that  we  have  traced  Electricity  from  an  early 
period,  chiefly  in  its  bearings  upon  Electric  Telegraphs. 

We  have  followed  up  the  progress  of  discoveries,  which 
finally  ended  in  the  establishment  of  telegraphic  communica- 
tion, as  we  now  see  it. 

The  early  triumphs  of  the  Electric  Telegraphs  are  events 
of  the  past — our  hopes  and  aspirations  look  to  the  future,  when 
their  improvement,  progress  and  results  will  prove  more  as- 


188  HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 

tonishing  and  truly  brilliant  than  any  we  have  ever  yet  wit- 
nessed. 

Like  kindred  discoveries,  the  science  of  Electric  Tele- 
graphy is  struggling  through  its  childhood.  Our  knowledge 
of  the  wonderful  agent  by  which  it  is  actuated  is  yet  imperfect. 
We  only  know  it  by  its  effects.  Future  investigations  must 
disclose  new  discoveries  in  electricity,  applicable  to  new  and 
important  purposes,  conducive  alike  to  the  advancement  of 
man's  power  over  matter,  of  his  elevation  of  intellect  and 
higher  civilization. 

"Canst  thou  send  lightnings,  that  they  may  go, 
and  say  unto  thee,  here  we  are?" — job. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CHARGES  FOR  TELEGRAPH  DISPATCHES. 


LIST  OF  OFFICES  AND  TARIFF. 

Ten 
words. 

Each 
addi'al 
word. 

LIST  OF  OFFICES  AND  TARIFF. 

Ten 

words. 

Each 
addi'al 
word. 

Adrian,  Mich. 

$     95 

5 

Bedford,  Pa. 

$     50 

3 

Akron,  Ohio    . 

65 

4 

Belfast,  Me.      .        . 

65 

4 

Albany,  N.  Y.      . 

30 

2 

Bellefontaine,  Ohio 

80 

6 

Albion,      "     . 

40 

3 

Belleville,  Can. 

75 

6 

Albion,  Mich. 

90 

5 

Belvidere,  111. 

1  30 

8 

Alleghany  City,  Pa. 

60 

4 

Bellville,  Ohio, 

75 

4 

Alexandria,  Va.    . 

56 

5 

Beloit,  Wis. 

1  50 

9 

Algonac,  Mich. 
Allentown,  Pa.     . 

1  10 

6 

Bennington,  Vt 

55 

4 

40 

4 

Berthier,  Can. 

1  10 

9 

Alton,  111. 

1  50 

9 

Bethlehem,  Pa. 

40 

4 

Amherst,  Me. 

1  53 

9 

Binghampton,  N.  Y.     . 

40 

3 

Ann  Arbor,  Mich. 

90 

6 

Bloomington,  Iowa . 

1  50 

9 

Appleton,  Wis.     . 

1  80 

10 

Bolivar,  Ohio 

75 

4 

Ashland,  Ohio . 

15 

5 

Boston,  Mass.  . 

20 

2 

Ashtabula,  " 

50 

3 

Bowmansville,  Can. 

75 

6 

Athens,        "    . 

1  00 

7 

Brantford,           "    . 

83 

6 

Athens,  Ga.  . 

95 

9 

Brattleboro,  Vt.   . 

45 

4 

Atalanta,  " 

1  91 

12 

Bridgeport,  Conn.    . 

20 

2 

Attica,  Ind.  . 

1  10 

6 

Bristol,  Mich. 

1  05 

6 

Auburn,  N".  Y. 

40 

3 

Brockport,  N.  Y.     . 

40 

3 

Augusta,  Me. 

65 

4 

Brockville,  Can.  . 

90 

7 

Augusta,  Ga.    . 

1  33 

9 

Brownsville,  Pa.      ■. 

50 

4 

Aurora,  HI.  . 

1  30 

1 

Buffalo,  N.  Y.      . 

40 

4 

Avon  Springs,  N.  Y.  . 

45 

3 

Burlington,  Vt. 
Burlington,  Iowa 

60 
1  35 

4 
10 

Balttmobe,  Md.    . 

50 

4 

Bangor,  Me.    . 

80 

4 

Cadiz,  Ohio 

80 

4 

Baraboa,  Wis. 

2  00 

11 

Cahawba,  Ala. 

1  90 

12 

Bardstown,  Ky. 

1  30 

9 

Cairo,  111.     . 

1  50 

9 

Batavia,  N.  Y.      . 

40 

3 

Calais,  Me. 

90 

5 

Batavia,  111.     . 

1  25 

7 

Cambridge  City,  Ind.   . 

1  10 

6 

Bath,  Me.     . 

70 

4 

Camden,  S.  C.  . 

1  03 

7 

Baton  Rouge,  La. 
Battle  Creek,  Mich. 

2  35 

16 

Canal  Dover,  Ohio 

1  00 

7 

90 

5 

Canandaigua,  N.  Y.  . 

40 

3 

Beardstown,  HI. 

1  40 

8 

Canton,  Miss. 

1  75 

11 

Beaver,  Pa.  . 

70 

4 

CantwelPs  Bridge,  Del. 

45 

4 

Beaver  Meadow,  Pa. 

50 

4 

Carbondale,  Pa.    . 

40 

3 

190 


HISTOKICAL  SKETCH  OF 


LIST  OF  OFFICES  AND  TARIFF. 

Ten 
words. 

Each 
addi'al 
word. 

LIST  OF  OFFICES  AND  TARIFF. 

Ten 
words. 

Each 

addi'al 
word. 

Carlisle,  Pa. 

$     40 

3 

Delphi,  Ind..    . 

$1  00 

6 

Carlisle,  Ind.     . 

1  10 

6 

Deposit,  Pa. 

40 

2 

Carmel,  N.  Y.       . 

20 

1 

Detroit^  Mich.  . 

75 

4 

Castleton,  Vt,  . 

55 

4 

Dixon,  111.    . 

1  35 

8 

Catskill,  N.  Y.      , 

20 

1 

Dodgeville,  Wis. 

1  60 

10 

Catasagua,  Pa. 

40 

4 

Dover,  Del.  . 

50 

5 

Cedarsburgh,  Wis. 

1  50 

8 

Dover,  Ohio     . 

75 

4 

Chagrin  Falls,  Ohio . 

75 

4 

Doylestown,  Pa.  . 

45 

4 

Chambersburgh,  Pa.     . 

40 

3 

Dresden,  Ohio  . 

75 

4 

Charleston,  S.  C.       . 

1  19 

8 

Dundas,  Can. 

83 

6 

Cheraw,          u     . 

9*7 

7 

Dundee,  111. 

1  35 

7 

Cherryfield,  Me. 

90 

5 

Dunkirk,  N.  Y.    . 

50 

3 

Chicago,  111. 

1  00 

6 

Chillicothe,  Ohio 

1  00 

7 

Easton,  Pa.  . 

40 

4 

Chippewa,  Can.    . 

63 

6 

Eastport,  Me.    . 

90 

5 

Cincinnati,  Ohio 

75 

5 

East  Machias,  Me. 

90 

5 

Circleville,     " 

1  00 

6 

Eaton,  Ohio     . 

95 

6 

Clarksville,  Tenn.     . 

1  25 

9 

Eddyville,  Ky.     . 

1  85 

8 

Clarkston,  Mich.  . 

1  00 

6 

Elgin,  111. 

1  30 

7 

Claremont,  N.  H. 

45 

4 

Elkhart,  Mich.      . 

1  05 

6 

Cleveland,  Ohio   . 

50 

3 

Ellsworth,  Me. 

70 

4 

Clinton,  La. 

2  00 

14 

Elmira,  N.  Y.       . 

40 

2 

Coburgh,  Can. 

50 

4 

Elyria,  Ohio     . 

60 

4 

Cold  Spring,  N.  Y.  . 

20 

1 

Enfield,  N.  H.       . 

50 

4 

Cold  water,  Mich. 

1  00 

5 

Erie,  Pa.  . 

50 

3 

Columbia,  Pa.  . 

55 

5 

Eugene,  Ind. 

1  10 

6 

Columbia,  S.  C.    .         . 

1  06 

7 

Evansville,  Ind. 

1  60 

11 

Columbia,  Tenn. 

1  40 

9 

Columbus,  Ohio  . 

80 

5 

Fairport,  Ohio     . 

55 

4 

Columbus,  Ga. 

1  75 

11 

Fall  River,  Mass. 

20 

2 

Columbus,  Miss.   . 

1  75 

12 

Fayetteville,  N".  C. 

90 

7 

Columbus,  Tenn. 

1  75 

11 

Flint,  Mich.      . 

1  05 

6 

Concord,  K  H.     . 

45 

4 

Fon  Du  Lac,  Wis. 

1  70 

10 

Coneaut,  Ohio 

50 

3 

Frankfort,  Ky. 

1  40 

9 

Connellsville,  Ind. 

1  05 

7 

Franklin,  N.  H.    . 

45 

4 

Constantine,  Mich.   . 

1  05 

6 

Franklin  Mills,  Ohio 

75 

4 

Cooperstown,  N.  Y. 

40 

3 

Fredericksburgh,  Va.  . 

61 

5 

Corning,             " 

45 

3 

Frederick  City,  Md. . 

75 

7 

Cornwall,  Can.     . 

85 

7 

Fredericktown,  N.  B.   . 

1  28 

7 

Covington,  Ind. 

1  10 

6 

Fredonia,  N.  Y. 

50 

3 

Coxsackie,  N.  Y.  . 

20 

1 

Freemont,  Ohio    . 

60 

4 

Crown  Point,  Mich.  . 

1  10 

6 

Freeport,  111.    . 

1  40 

9 

Cumberland,  Md. 

80 

7 

Fort  Atkinson,  Wis. 

1  50 

9 

Cuyahoga  Falls,  Ohio 

65 

4 

Fort  Plain,  N.  Y.      . 

30 

2 

Cuylersville,  N.  Y. 

45 

3 

Fort  Wayne,  Ind. 

1  00 

6 

Fort  Winnebago,  Wis. 

2  00 

11 

Damariscotta,  Me. 

60 

4 

Fulton,  N.  Y. 

40 

3 

Dansville,  NJ  Y. 

45 

3 

Fulton,  Ohio    . 

75 

4 

Dansville,  111. 

1  00 

6 

Darling,  Can.  . 

75 

6 

Galattn,  Miss. 

1  90 

13 

Dayton,  Ohio 
Deouque,  111.   . 

1  00 

6 

Galena,  111.       . 

1  40 

8 

1  40 

6 

Galipolis,  Ohio     . 
Gardiner,  Me.  . 

1  15 

8 

Defiance,  Ohio 

95 

6 

65 

4 

Delaware,  Pa.  . 

25 

2 

Geneva,  N.  Y. 

40 

3 

Delaware  City,  Del. 

40 

4 

Geneva,  111. 

1  35 

7 

THE   ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH. 


191 


LIST  OF  OFFICES  AND  TARIFF. 

Ten 

words. 

Each 
addi'al 
word. 

LIST  OF  OFFICES  AND  TARIFF. 

Ten 
words. 

Each 

addi'al 

word. 

Geneseo,  N.  Y. 

•    45 

3 

Junction,  Vt. 

$     50 

2 

Georgetown,  D.  C.     . 

55 

5 

Germantown,  Pa. 

45 

4 

Kalamazoo,  Mich. 

90 

5 

Girard,              " 

50 

3 

Kenosha,  Wis. . 

.1  30 

1 

Glasgow,  Ky 

1  40 

9 

Kenton,  Ohio 

80 

6 

Goodrich,  Mich. 

1  05 

6 

Keokuk,  Iowa  . 

1  50 

9 

Goshen,  N.  Y. 

25 

1 

Kingston,  N.  Y.    . 

20 

1 

Goshen,  Ind.     . 

1  05 

6 

Kingston,  Can. . 

15 

6 

Granville,  Ohio     . 

80 

5 

Green  Bay,  Wis. 

2  00 

11 

Lafayette,  Ind.    . 

1  00 

6 

Greenbush^    " 

1  60 

10 

Lake  Mills,  Ohio, 

1  50 

9 

Greencastle,  Ind. 

1   10 

6 

Lancaster,  Pa. 

45 

4 

Greenfield,  Mass.  . 

45 

4 

Lancaster,  111.  . 

1  55 

10 

Greensburg,  Pa. 

60 

4 

Lancaster,  Ohio    . 

95 

6 

Griffin,  Ga.  . 

1  86 

12 

Lancaster,  Wis. 
Laporte,  Ind. 

1  65 
1  00 

10 
6 

Halifax,  N.  S. 

1  65 

10 

Lasalle,  111.       . 

1  40 

8 

Hallowell,  Me. 

65 

4 

Lawrenceburg,  Ind. 

95 

6 

Hamilton,  Ohio     . 

1  10 

6 

Lebanon,  N.  H, 

50 

4 

Hamilton,  Can. 

63 

5 

Lewiston,  N.  Y.    . 

50 

4 

Hannibal,  Mo. 

1  50 

9 

Lexington,  Ky. 

1  20 

8 

Hards,  KB.. 

1  65 

10 

Liberty,  Miss. 

1  95 

12 

Harper's  Ferry,  Va. 

75 

1 

Lima,  Ind. 

1  00 

6 

Harrisburg,  Pa. 

45 

4 

Little  Falls,  N.  Y. 

30 

2 

Hartford,  Conn.     . 

20 

2 

Littlefort,  111.  . 

1  30 

8 

Havre  de  Grace,  Md. 

45 

3 

Lockport,  N.  Y.    . 

40 

3 

Hazlegreene,  Wis. 

1  60 

9 

Lockport,  111.    . 

1  30 

8 

Hebron,  Ohio    . 

80 

5 

Logansport,  Ind.  . 

1  00 

6 

Herkimer,  N.  Y.   . 

30 

2 

London.  Can.    . 

88 

1 

Hillsboro,  111.    . 

1  30 

8 

Louisville,  Ky. 

1  20 

8 

Hollydaysburg,  Pa. 

60 

4 

Lowell,  Mass.  . 

45 

4 

Holly  Springs,  Ala.  . 

1  90 

13 

Lowell,  Ohio 

80 

4 

Honesdale,  Pa. 

25 

2 

Lower  Sandusky,  Ohio 

10 

4 

Hudson,  N.  Y.  . 

20 

2 

Hudson,  Ohio 

65 

4 

Macon,  Ga.  . 

1  66 

10 

Hudson,  Mich.  . 

95 

5 

Madison,  Ind.   . 

1  20 

1 

Huntington,  Ind.   . 

95 

6 

Madison,  Wis. 
Manchester,  Vt. 

1  50 
55 

9 
4 

Indianapolis,  Ind. 

1   10 

6 

Manchester,  N".  H. 

55 

4 

Iowa  City,  Iowa 

1  75 

11 

Mansfield,  Ohio 

15 

4 

Ithica,  N.  Y.         . 

65 

4 

Marengo,  111. 
Marietta,  Ohio 

1  30 
1  10 

8 

n 

Jacinto,  Miss. 

1  55 

11 

Marshall,  Mich.     . 

90 

5 

Jackson,     " 

2  20 

11 

Martinsburgh,  Va. 

15 

6 

Jackson,  Mich. 

90 

5 

Massillon,  Ohio 

65 

4 

Jacksonville,  111. 

1  45 

9 

Maumee  City  " 

10 

4 

Janesville,  Wis.     . 

1  40 

9 

Maysville,  Ky. 

1  00 

6 

Jefferson,  N.  Y. 

65 

4 

Meadville,  Pa.  . 

70 

5 

Jefferson,  Miss.      . 

1  50 

8 

Medina,  N.  Y.       . 

40 

3 

Jefferson,  Wis. . 

1  50 

9 

Medina,  Ohio   . 

75 

4 

Jeffersonville,  Ind. 

1  10 

8 

Memphis,  Tenn.     . 

1  15 

13 

Jersey  City,  N.  J.     . 

20 

2 

Menassa,  Wis. 

1  90 

10 

Jonesville,  Mich.   . 

95 

5 

Meriden,  Conn. 

20 

2 

Juliet,  111. 

1  10 

8 

Michigan  City,  Ind.   . 

1  00 

5 

Junction,  Ohio 

90 

6 

Middlebury,  Vt.    . 

60 

4 

192 


HISTOKICAL  SKETCH  OF 


LIST  OF  OFFICES  AND  TARIFF. 

Ten 

words. 

Each 
addi'al 
word. 

LIST  OF  OFFICES  AND  TARIFF. 

Ten 
words. 

Each 

addi'al 

word. 

Middleton,  Ohio     . 

$1   10 

6 

North  Adams,  Mass. 

$     40 

3 

Midletown,  Conn. 

20 

2 

Northampton,     " 

45 

4 

Milan,  Ohio  . 

60 

4 

Northfield,  Vt.      . 

60 

5 

Milford,  Del.     . 

50 

5 

Norwalk,  Conn. 

20 

2 

Milford,  Ohio 

1  00 

6 

Nunda,  N.  Y. 

45 

3 

Milwaukie,  Wis. 

1  80 

7 

Mineral  Point,  "    . 

1  50 

9 

Ogdensburgh,  N.  Y. 

50 

3 

Misawaukie,  Mich.    . 

1  10 

6 

Orwell,  Vt.       . 

60 

4 

Mobile,  Ala. . 

2  07 

12 

Oshawa,  Can. 

75 

6 

Monroe,  Mich.  . 

70 

4 

Oshkosh,  Wis.  . 

1  50 

9 

Montezuma,  Ind.  . 

1  20 

6 

Oswego,  N.  Y. 

40 

3 

Montgomery,  Ala.    . 

1  85 

11 

Ottawa,  111.      . 

1  30 

8 

Montpelier,  Vt. 

85 

6 

Owego,  NY. 

40 

3 

Montreal,  Caa  . 

85 

7 

Ozaukie,  Wis.  . 

1  40 

8 

Montrose,  Pa. 

40 

3 

Morris,  111. 

1  25 

7 

Paduca,  Ky. 

1  57 

9 

Morrow,  Ohio 

90 

6 

Painesville,  Ohio 

50 

3 

Mt.  Carbon,  Pa. 

50 

4 

Palmyra,  N.  Y.     . 

40 

3 

Mt.  Clements,  Mich. 

1  00 

6 

Palmyra,  Wis.  . 

1  50 

10 

Mt.  Morris,  N.  Y.      . 

45 

3 

Paoli,  Ind.     . 

1  40 

9 

Mt.  Pleasant,  Ohio 

1  30 

10 

Paris,  Ky. 

1  35 

9 

Mt.  Sterling,  111. 

1  40 

8 

Paris,  111.      . 

1  40 

8 

Mt.  Vernon,  Ohio  . 

80 

5 

Pawtucket,  R  I. 

20 

2 

Muscatine,  Iowa 

1  55 

10 

Peekskill,  N.  Y.    . 

20 

1 

Penn  Yan,    "    . 

60 

4 

Napiersville,  HI. 

1  30 

7 

Peoria,  Ind.  . 

1  05 

6 

Nashville,  Tenn. 

1  35 

10 

Peoria,  Ilk 

1  35 

8 

Nashua,  N.  H.       . 

45 

4 

Perrysville,  Ohio  . 

1  10 

6 

Natckes,  Miss.  . 

2  25 

15 

Peru,  Ind. 

1  00 

6 

Navarre,  Ohio 

75 

4 

Peru,  111.       . 

1  30 

8 

Nenah,  Wis.     . 

1  90 

10 

Petersburg,  Va. 

69 

5 

Nazareth,  Pa. 

45 

4 

Petticodiac,  N.  B. 

1  40 

8 

Newark,  N.  J.  . 

20 

2 

Phoenixville,  Pa. 

40 

4 

Newark,  Ohio 

80 

5 

Philadelphia,   "     . 

25 

2 

New  Albany,  Ind.     . 

1  30 

8 

Pictou,  N.  B.     . 

1  65 

11 

New  Bedford,  Mass. 

20 

2 

Piermont,  N.  Y.    . 

20 

1 

New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 

20 

2 

Piqua,  Ohio 

1  30 

8 

New  Buffalo,  Mich. 

1  00 

6 

Piketon,  "     . 

1  25 

8 

Newburg,  N.  Y. 

20 

1 

Pikeville,  Ala.  . 

1  65 

11 

New  Castle,  Del.  . 

40 

4 

Pittsburg,  Pa. 

60 

4 

New  Commerstown,  Ohio 

70 

4 

Pittsfield,  Mass. 

50 

4 

New  Haven,  Conn. 

20 

2 

Plattville,  Wis.      . 

1  55 

10 

New  Lisbon,  Ohio     . 

70. 

4 

Pomeroy,  Ohio 

1  20 

8 

New  London,  Conn. 

20 

2 

Pontiac,  Mich. 

1  25 

8 

New  Orleans,  La. 

2  40 

14 

Port  Clinton,  Pa.       . 

50 

4 

New  Philadelphia,  Ohio 

80 

4 

Port  Hope,  Can.   . 

75 

6 

New  Richmond,         "  . 

1  05 

8 

Port  Huron,  Mich.     . 

1  30 

8 

Newport,  R.  I. 

20 

2 

Port  Jervis,  Pa.    . 

25 

2 

Newton  Falls,  Ohio      . 

75 

4 

Portland,  Me.   . 

40 

3 

New  Washington,  "  . 

80 

6 

Port  Richmond,  Pa. 

40 

3 

Niagara,  Can. 

63 

5 

Portsmouth,  Ohio 

1  00 

7 

Niagara  Falls,  . 

45 

4 

Portsmouth,  N.  H. 

40 

3 

Niles,  Mich.  . 

95 

5 

Port  Washington,  Ohio 

80 

4 

Norfolk,  Va.     . 

1  19 

9 

Potosi,  Mo.    . 

1  55 

10 

Norristown,  Pa.     . 

40 

4 

IPottstown,  Pa. 

40 

4 

THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH. 


193 


LIST  OP  OFFICES  AND  TARIFF. 

Ten 
words 

Each 
addi'al 
word. 

LIST  OF  OFFICES  AND  TARIFF. 

Ten 
words. 

Each 
addi'al 
word. 

Pottsville,  Pa. 

|     50 

4 

Southport,  Wis.     . 

U  30 

8 

Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. 

20 

1 

Springfield,  Mass.     . 

20 

2 

Prescott,  Can. 

85 

7 

Springfield,  Vt.     . 

45 

4 

Princeton,  N.  J. 

20 

2 

Springfield,  Ohio 

80 

5 

Providence,  R.  I.  . 

20 

2 

Springfield,  111. 

1  25 

8 

Springvalley,  Ohio    . 

90 

6 

Quebec,  Can. 

1  10 

9 

Stamford,  Conn.    . 

20 

2 

Queenston,  "     . 

50 

4 

Steubenville,  Ohio    . 

80 

6 

Quincy,  111.   . 

1  30 

8 

St.  Albans,  Vt.      . 

60 

4 

St.  Catharines,  Can.  . 

50 

4 

Racine,  Wis. 

1  30 

8 

St.  Charles,  Ohio  . 

90 

6 

Raleigh,  N.  C.  . 

84 

6 

St.  Clair,  Mich. 

1  35 

8 

Randolph,  Vt. 

50 

4 

St.  Genevieve,  Mo. 

1  75 

10 

Ravenna,  Ohio  . 

75 

4 

St.  Georges,  N.  B.     . 

1   15 

6 

Reading,  Pa. 

40 

4 

St.  Johns,  Can. 

1  00 

6 

Red  Hook,  N.  Y.      . 

20 

1 

St.  Johns,  N.  B. 

1   15 

6 

Republic,  Ohio 

80 

6 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

1  45 

10 

Richmond,  Pa. 

35 

3 

St.  Marys,  Ohio 

1  00 

5 

Richmond,  Va. 

67 

5 

Sturges  Prairie,  Mich.   . 

1  00 

6 

Richmond,  Ind. 

1  10 

6 

Suffolk,  Va.      . 

1   19 

9 

Ripley,  Ohio 

1  05 

6 

Susquehanna,  Pa. 

40 

2 

Rochester,  N".  Y. 

40 

3 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

40 

3 

Rockford,  111. 

1  35 

7 

Rock  Island,  111. 

1  55 

10 

Taunton,  Mass.     . 

20 

2 

Rockland,  Me. 

65 

4 

Tecumseh,  Mich. 

90 

5 

Rocton,  N.  Y.   . 

30 

2 

Terrehaute,  Ind.    . 

1   10 

6 

Roc  ton,  111.   . 

1  35 

7 

Theresa,  K  Y. . 

40 

3 

Rome,  N.  Y.    . 

30 

2 

Thomaston,  Me.     . 

65 

4 

Rondout,  "    . 

20 

1 

Thompsonville,  Conn. 

20 

2 

Roscoe,  Ohio     . 

80 

4 

Three  Rivers,  Can. 

1   10 

9 

Rushville,  111. 

1  25 

8 

Tiffin,  Ohio 

80 

6 

Rutland,  Vt.     . 

55 

4 

Toledo,  "... 

70 

5 

Tonawanda,  K  Y.     . 

50 

4 

Sackville,  KB.  . 

1  40 

8 

Toronto,  Can. 

63 

5 

Saginaw,  Mich. 

1  40 

8 

Trenton,  N.  J.  . 

20 

2 

Saco,  Me. 

40 

3 

Troy,  N.  Y.  . 

30 

2 

Salem,  III 

1  50 

9 

Troy,  Ohio 

80 

6 

Salem,  Ind.  . 

1  00 

6 

Truro,  N.  B.  . 

1   65 

10 

Sandusky,  Ohio 

60 

4 

Tuscumbia,  Ala. 

1  60 

12 

Saratoga,  N.  Y.    . 

55 

4 

Tuscurabia,  Mo.     . 

1  45 

10 

Saugerties,    "  . 

20 

1 

Sauk  Prairie,  Wis. 

2  10 

11 

Uniontown,  Pa.    . 

75 

5 

Savannah,  Ga. . 

1  46 

9 

Urbana,  Ohio  . 

80 

6 

Schaghticoke,  N.  Y. 

40 

3 

Urichville,  " 

80 

6 

Schenectady,      " 

30 

2 

Utica,  N.  Y.      . 

30 

2 

Section  Ten,  Ohio 

1  00 

6 

Sheboygan,  Wis. 

1  50 

9 

Valatia,  KY.     . 

20 

1 

Shebovgan  Falls,  Wis.  . 

1  50 

9 

Valparaiso,  Ind. 

1   10 

6 

Shelbyville,  Ohio      . 

1  05 

7 

Vergennes,  Vt. 

60 

4 

Shelbyville,  111.     . 

1  05 

7 

Versailles,  Ky. 

1   10 

7 

Shelbyville.  Ind.       . 

1   10 

6 

Vicksburg,  Miss.  . 

2  10 

15 

Shelbyville,  Ky.    . 

1  20 

8 

Vincennes,  Ind. 

1   10 

6 

Shullsburg,  Wis. 

1  60 

10 

Sidney,  Ohio 

1  00 

6 

Wabash,  Ind. 

1  00 

6 

South  Bend,  Ind. 

95 

1     5 

Waldoboro,  Me. 

65 

4 

194 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


LIST  OP  OFFICES  AND  TARIFF. 

Ten 
words. 

Each   i 
addi'al 
word. 

LIST  OF  OFFICES  AND  TARIFF. 

Ten 
words. 

Each 
addi'al 
word. 

Warren,  R.  I. 

$     20 

2 

Wilkesbarre,  Penn. 

1     55 

5 

Warren,  Ohio   . 

75 

4 

Williamston,  Mass.  . 

40 

3 

Washington,  D.  C. 

50 

5 

Wilmington,  Del.  . 

45 

4 

Washington,  Ohio     . 

90 

6 

Winchester,  Va. 

78 

7 

Washington,  Pa.    . 

85 

6 

Windsor,  Vt. 

50 

4 

Waterbury,  Vt. 

60 

5 

Woodfield,  Ohio 

1  30 

9 

Watertown,  N.  Y. 

50 

3 

Woodstock,  Vt.    . 

50 

5 

Waukeesha,  Wis. 

1  25 

7 

Woodstock,  Can. 

88 

7 

Waynesville,  Ohio 

90 

6 

Woodstock,  111.     . 

1  30 

7 

Wellsville,        "      . 

70 

4 

Woonsocket,  R.  I.     . 

20 

2 

Westfield,  KY.  . 

50 

3 

Worcester,  Mass.  . 

20 

2 

West  Liberty,  Ohio  . 

80 

6 

Wooster,  Ohio  . 

75 

5 

West  Randolph,  Vt.      . 

50 

4 

West  Union,  Ohio    . 

1  05 

8 

Xenia,  Ohio . 

90 

6 

Wheeling,  Va. 

80 

5 

Whitby,  Can. 

75 

6 

York,  Pa.     . 

50 

3 

Whitehall,  N.  Y.  . 

55 

4 

Youngstown,  Pa. 

80 

5 

Whitehaven,  Pa. 

55 

5 

Ypsilanti,  Mich.    . 

90 

5 

White  River  Junction,  Vt. 

90 

6 

Whitewater,  Wis. 

1  30 

7 

Zanesville,  Ohio  . 

75 

5 

THE  END. 


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